


The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow

by Jomarch05



Category: Glee, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-03
Updated: 2012-09-06
Packaged: 2017-11-13 10:59:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 74,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/502792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jomarch05/pseuds/Jomarch05
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Theirs was the first romance at the Games. But it was never meant for television consumption though it occurred nonetheless. Borne out of love and not desperation even if the odds were never in their favor. The hunger games, faberry style.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Quinn Fabray

. **The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

Theirs was the first romance at the Games. But it was never meant for television consumption though it occurred nonetheless. Borne out of love and not desperation even if the odds were never in their favor. The hunger games, faberry style.

_**Part 1 - Quinn Fabray**_

She slowly spoons the broth into the man's mouth even as she feels her own stomach grumble at the prospect of losing her meal for the fourth time this week. Quinn knows how lucky she is though, compared to the other citizens of District 4. Her father's status as a doctor and her own budding healing talents allowing them some respite from the harsh reality of their lives.

The other citizens were forced to work for the benefit of the Capitol while she and her father toiled to keep them healthy enough to do their jobs. The only thing that she had in common with the rest was her participation in the reaping when she had turned 12. Even then, she was still slightly better of because of the fact that this would be her last one and unlike many others, she still had the odds in her favor, only having her name in there seven times.

She winces when the man coughs, a deep gurgling sound signifying that he's slowly drowning in his own blood and despite how adept she is at healing, this case is beyond her meager supplies and superior skills. Her father would have maybe been able to help but Mr. Evans didn't have the money or goods to trade for such care. The gaping wound at his side still sluggishly bleeding around the brown oar sticking out from it.

"He should die at home" her father's reproachful voice cutting through her thoughts. She knows he does not approve of what she is doing or what she intends to continue doing but she does not care. It's just not in her nature to watch someone die, not if she could at least try to do something even if it was just to ease their pain, like now.

"He does not have much time left." Her voice is wary and not that of a seventeen year old, which is to be expected considering everyone grew up fast in the Districts and only the children of the Capitol were allowed their childhood. "I sent for his family to come." she knows she has angered him when she hears his hand push open the door with such force that the knob hits the wall leaving a mark.

"When will you learn?" his hand is squeezing her upper arm, forcing her to turn to face him even as he drags her from the chair such that she spills the rest of the broth on the floor. Quinn expects the slap but the force in which he puts into it surprises her as she reels backwards, falling to the ground with a thud, her hands slipping on the already wet floor. "Helping the weak only shows how weak you are." his words said through gritted teeth as he tries to get her to understand the way the world works and how he's trying his best to protect her even if it meant hurting her in the short run.

She does not try to argue with him because there is no way she would win knowing that he would use his hands as much as his words to get her to see his view."I'm sorry." her voice is contrite enough such that he lowers his arm as he stares down at her. "I won't give them anything else, just the knowledge that he's going to a better place."

It's just the right thing to say because despite their differences, their faith is the one thing they have in common. Practiced in secret and binding them together stronger than the blood they share. It allows her to forgive his own transgressions, the drink and propensity to lash out when he could not contain his anger.

Quinn sees him look down at the overturned bowl on the floor next to her. "Your rations tomorrow are suspended." It's a small price to pay to at least be able to help. She nods her acceptance before getting up to clean the floor and wait for the Evans family to show up.

It's close to seven at night when they do. A young man her age with two younger siblings with a frail blonde woman. She's seen Sam around and knows he had to drop out of school to join the fishing crew when his mother took ill. Some say it was the fever but her gaunt expression and vacant eyes could only point to morphling addiction. It would explain the need for extra money and the reason why Mr. Evans had volunteered for the job which eventually led to his accident and soon his death.

Quinn tries to smile at Stacie. She's small for a twelve year old but in the water, she's faster than even the sixteen year olds. It's a good skill to have even if Quinn hopes that she'll never have to use it either on the fishing boats or worst in the Games.

But that was normal in District 4, the only way to survive was to put their own lives on the line, be it volunteering for tesserae or doing work that would eventually get them killed. It was accepted like how the sun would rise everyday and the simple fact that their lives were not all their own but for use in service of the Capitol.

"How is he?" Quinn hears the underlying question clearly from the boy. Sam she thinks his name but does not say it out loud. They had shared a few classes and she remembered that she had liked his smile. Although she knows she won't get to see it again at least not for a long time.

She thinks of what to say that will bring comfort and not scare the already scared looking children and woman. "I gave him something to ease the ...to help." She only has knowledge of natural herbs and no access to the stronger medicines that could mask almost any pain. Those were kept by her father and reserved for the people who could pay which was not the case here.

But her skills at mixing and apothecary allowing her medicines to mimic the properties of a lot of those that her father dispenses. So at least she speaks some truth and sees some relief on Sam's face.

Her own expression morphs to surprise when she sees his hand extended and four large fishes hanging by their mouths on an intricate trap hanging with hooks. It looks beautiful and deadly at the same time. And when she realizes that it's payment she shakes her head. "No. I..." she does not do this for any payment but only because she knows she must. The impetus to save lives, to make a difference, so ingrained that it allows her to go against her own father's wishes on a daily basis.

"Take it." Sam's voice is harsh as he thrust his hand at her, his face filled with hurt and pride. And Quinn understands what he's thinking even if she knows she'll have another fight on her hands when he hears what she's going to say next.

"Sam.." she can see he's surprised when she finally uses his name and she takes the opportunity to cut him off even as he opens his mouth. "He was brought in five hours ago, the wound already sluggish." She sees his eyes slam shut as he takes in her words, understanding that his father never had a chance. "I gave him something to stop the pain and he had some food." Sam's blue eyes finally meeting her hazel ones as an understanding passes between them, beyond words because there really was nothing else to say.

He nods his thanks to Quinn knowing that despite his father's prognosis, she had done as much as she could, more even. Feeding a man on his deathbed was just a waste but he can see that she had done it anyway. "Thank you." his hand finally dropping to his side as his fingers tighten around the trap holding the fishes. With his father almost dead, they would need all the food they had and more. He's not really sure where he'll get it but it does not mean he won't try and ensure that his brother and sister and mom are looked after.

"How long?" Mary Evan's voice sounds rusty, hollow even as she looks at her husband lying on the bed, his face ashen and his breaths shallow. She knows it's only a matter of time for him and therefore also for her sons and daughter. Without Dwight, there was no way they could survive. She feels her own breaths shorten as she understands that her fate was sealed and all she had to look forward to was to see her children slowly starve before her eyes.

"Mom." She feels Sam take her hand in his, his voice urgent and anxious but she cannot look at him instead just staring at the rise and fall of her husband's chest until it stops and she feels her own heart stutter in her chest as she falls to the floor clutching her abdomen as if in pain, a keening wail already forming on her lips. "Mom, please, I'm here. It'll be fine. Please." Sam does not want Stevie or Stacie to witness this and he's thankful to see Quinn usher them out, pulling a small crust of bread from her pocket and telling them to share it in the hallway.

Quinn feels helpless, knowing that there really was nothing she could do, all her hopes and prayers amounted to naught when death came. Still, she cannot just stand there without at leas trying so she helps Sam with his mother, putting her in the chair she had been occupying. When she looks at Sam, she sees anger and profound sadness lining his face and it takes all her resolve not to reach out.

"She's sick" his tone is defensive and all she can do is nod even of she does not fully believe. It's only when he pulls up the sleeves of his mother's dress and she sees the sores adorning her arms does Quinn truly understand; infection from the pox. Not fatal like before because it had been reengineered to be non infectious but deadly nonetheless. Only instead of a quick death, the victims developed external sores which slowly eats through flesh, leaving a burning sensation. A slow and very painful death. The victim barely able to function much less work. It explains so much even if she feels like she does not deserve to know.

However, she can see Sam gauging her reaction before he continues, "Stacie looks out for her after school and Mrs. Zizes drops by from next door every now and then." His words finally spurring her on as she goes to her medicinal box.

She scrambles through her supplies until she finds the vial, 100 mg of morphine. Not the poor substitute sold in the districts but the real medicine, taken from her father's store. He never missed it but she never dared to take more. Quinn knew she would eventually have need for it and this seemed a good time as any. Her fingers curl around the bottle as she mimics Sam's actions when he had offered her the fish.

"Please take this. It'll help." Instead of waiting for him to agree, Quinn steps forward tugging on his arm and placing the bottle in his palm. Before Sam can say anything, the silence is broken by the sound of the door slamming open as her father once again strides in to the room dragging Stevie and Stacie with him, his voice accusatory. "You said you would give them nothing." He shows her the small crust of bread in his palm before once again raising his arm.

Only Sam is faster as he steps deftly in front of her, his own arms raised as he stops her father's hand in midair. "Don't." It's a battle of wills and even if Russell Fabray's is stronger, Sam Evans is younger and in better shape such that he finally pushes him backwards. Before Russell can do anything more, Sam scoops up the fishes he had brought and throws it at the doctor's feet. "For my father's care and the bread."

It's more than enough payment and he does not wait for Russell's response before going to the bed and carrying his father's body. His sister and brother already helping their mother to her feet.

They're twenty feet from the house when he hears the sound of running feet behind him. His body tenses until he realizes that the footfalls are light and when he turns, he sees Quinn's face, a bruise forming at her cheek and the side of her mouth bloody. He tightens his jaw, wishing he could help her as much as she had helped him but all he feels is impotent rage.

Sam wants to go back to her house and take out some of his anger on her father to teach him to stop laying his hands on Quinn. And it's as if she reads his mind as she skids to a stop in front of him her words already meant to soothe.

"I'm fine. I'm so sorry i couldn't do more." He feels like crying at her words and covers it with a harsh laugh instead as he opens his palm to reveal the treasure she had given him. The relief it would bring his mother even more valuable than she can imagine.

"You've done too much already. I will never be able to repay you but I will try." Even as Sam says the words, he knows that he will spend the rest of his life trying to repay Quinn Fabray. He does not know how and to be absolutely honest, he also understands that it's as empty a promise as their food cabinets at home. But it's already taken root in his mind as he leans forward to kiss her on her cheek. The softest of touches to seal a promise.

He feels her intake of breath but she does not pull back. Instead her hand closes around his. "5mg every two to three days will make it last and just take care of your family." As always, she wishes she could do more even if she knows she really cannot. The reality of their situation presses down on her as her shoulders slump. Sam's kiss even more confusing because all she feels is lost and empty.

"I will. See you tomorrow." His sentence does not end in a question and she's momentarily confused until she looks into his eyes and sees resignation there. She thinks of the day and remembers its Saturday. No school or secret church to meet up at until she remembers the date; Reaping day.

The one and only day that there is no difference in where you were born or what trade your parents hailed from. The only thing that connected all the families with children in District 4 and all the other Districts. She hates that they are forced to dress for the occasion much less the pomp and ceremony of a glorified culling. But like Sam and all the other children in the Districts, she has no other choice except to accept her fate whatever that may be.

"The odds will never be in our favor." Mary's hollow voice sending a chill up her spine which Quinn prays is more from the cold than an indication of a premonition. Still, she does not turn to go back to her house, instead she stands there until she can no longer see Sam or his family in the waning light.

She won't sleep tonight like she hasn't for the past six years each night before the reaping. One more year and then she'll be free or at least free from the fear of the Games. Quinn touches her cheek, the memory of Sam's kiss not quite overriding the pain caused by her father's hand and she wonders if anything other than morphine could stop such pain, before trudging back to her house.

**End Part 1**


	2. Rachel Beryl Berry

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part II – Rachel Beryl Berry**

Hiram Berry has been Mayor of District 1 for ten years and he still feels like a novice at the game of politics. He knows that people in the outer Districts would think that being the closest District to the Capitol would accord it some extra privileges. And maybe it did considering that their main function was to provide the Capitol with its finery and entertainers. Except, it also meant that being so close led to more scrutiny and it was always going to be more like a curse than a blessing.

To have the ability to see their excesses but not be allowed to partake. To know some secrets but not be allowed to have any of their own. However, Hiram learnt to adapt, modulating his own behavior and wants such that he subsumed his own needs in order to ensure he was never in the cross hairs of the Capitol. And most important was that his daughter Rachel was also not a target.

Through it all, he feels a certain sense of accomplishment for what he has managed to do. His forbidden love for LeRoy kept so secret that no one, not even Rachel knew and his secret pact with the Pierces' meant that his daughter would never need to fear the Reaping. And yet, he's done more, keeping a steady flow of food into the District using every means at his disposal from subtle blackmail to bribery. Doing all of it, with the singular focus of looking after the people who have trusted him with their lives.

He tries his best not to think of the two children that he quietly sends to their death each year. Hoping that everything else that he does has made up for it and no one would blame him for the measures he has taken to protect his own daughter.

All in all, it was worth the sacrifice to not feel the cold, dreaded fear each year when the day of reaping approached. And to know that this year would be the last was such a reprieve. He would be able to send Rachel off to the Capitol, her voice such a treasure that he knows the citizens there would at least value it even if they would never value her.

And maybe, just maybe he would be finally able to fulfill his promise to LeRoy and live more openly at least in his own house knowing that his daughter was at least okay.

"Will there be anything else, sir?" Hiram hates the tone that LeRoy uses at these times, too subservient because of his role as manservant even if Hiram knows that he is the one whose heart has been captured so long ago.

"LeRoy..." his own tone softer and more cajoling as he thinks of their future, now so close after all these years. Just one more reaping and Rachel would be safe. His hand reaches out only to still when he hears Rachel's voice.

"Daddy?" He loves the way the room brightens when she walks in, her voice conveying her love. Such emotion completely encapsulated in that one word.

"Sweetheart, I thought you were going into town, to buy a new dress?" he sees her stop at the door as she stares at LeRoy, her face falling at his words and tone because buying a new dress for the past six years has always been associated with The Reaping.

"I was going to but I wanted to see if LeRoy wanted to come with." She wishes things were different and she didn't have to hide, to push down all her thoughts and feelings and never act on anything because it wasn't accepted; because the Capitol did not accept what was different even if it felt right.

Rachel does not know how her father manages to conceal his love, to go through his life not being able to express what he feels and to hold himself back just because someone decreed that his feelings did not matter. She wishes she could confide in him, to tell him that she understands and she wishes that things were different.

Only they will never be and the only thing she can do is to pretend that she does not know because acknowledging something that can never be would just hurt everyone more. So she swallows everything instead showing her emotions only when she sang. Her own bond with LeRoy just shy of her attachment to her father because she knows how important he is to their lives and the sacrifices he made each day in serving them because he loved them unconditionally and not because it was his job.

It's a secret she only shares with LeRoy, the both of them carrying its weight, divided between them, binding them together despite never being able to articulate its toll. She realizes that she is still so much luckier than most, the protection her father accords her by keeping his secrets is something that she knows she will never be able to make up for even if she had a hundred years. And sometimes she feels like she is undeserving of even this life because she has never done anything for her father except to stay silent.

She does understands that he does it all because he truly loves her despite the cost to himself and the only thing she is really able to offer him is her love and to work towards her goal of going to the Capitol, not as a free citizen but indentured as a performer. It was the pinnacle of assignments for someone from District 1 apart from actually volunteering for the Games.

Rachel shudders at the thought of the Games. That barbaric practice of pitting children against each other not only for sport and entertainment but as a lesson for all as to what waits for anyone who defies the Capitol. Eighteen games so far with each subsequent one being more elaborate and cruel than the one before and yet, gaining such status in the lower Districts that families have started grooming their children in hopes that they are picked or would volunteer.

It was a twisted sense of logic to accept their fate and therefore do everything in their power to ensure that their children would actually get a fighting chance to win; training them as soon as they were old enough to hold a weapon. Imbuing children with deadly skills so that they could kill each other not only to survive but to show everyone in the twelve Districts that their masters were all powerful, it was wrong and it sickened her to her stomach.

But the Reaping is tomorrow and her probability of getting picked still lower than many other children in the District. Only she has this bad feeling. A wisp of an understanding that she's on the cusp of something beyond her control and all she can do is to hope that whatever it is, she'll face up to it.

"If I get chosen tomorrow…" She sees the stricken looks her words bring but she truly feels she needs to say it. "You have made me feel so loved, so precious. I love you." She does not miss the look of surprise on her father's face as she finally speaks to the both of them, silently acknowledging their connection to each other. LeRoy is the first to act as he engulfs her in a hug. And seconds later, she feels her father's arms join in as well.

"I seem to be interrupting something." The cold voice of Bryan Ryan, Head Peacekeeper causes Rachel to jerk back as she realizes what the scene looks like and she tries to step in front, allowing her father and LeRoy time to compose themselves.

But she can see the way his eyes shift and that knowing glint form that makes her feel fearful even more than the prospect of the Reaping. It's a look that speaks volumes because she recognizes evil when she sees it. It's there on the faces of a few of the Peacekeepers in their District and definitely on the face of Dakota Stanley, their District's escort at the Reaping.

"What do you want, Peacekeeper Ryan?" Her father finally finds his voice and uses that authoritative tone that goes against everything she knows about him. But it's just another dichotomy in their lives that she has learnt to accept.

"I have been informed by the Capitol that the supplies in our stores are actually higher that they have been led to believe." Coming from District two, he was predisposed to always feel like an outsider no matter where he went. But to be made to feel inferior to the people here was unacceptable. He was Head Peacekeeper which in any other District would mean having the power to punish at will. Only here, he was muzzled, limited by the Mayor's soft heart and forced to dole out minor punishments for major infractions.

"It seems like more rations have been provided to each family than sanctioned. Would you happen to know anything about this?" the question is posed so innocuously, the tone cursory but the way he is standing all points to the fact that he knows exactly who has been cheating the Capitol.

Still Hiram has been at this game longer and his own expression morphs to surprise as he shakes his head, "Really, I can't believe anyone would be able to do such a thing. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will look into this and inform the Capitol of your vigilance." There was no mistaking the implied dismissal in Hiram's words and he wonders if he has gone too far when he sees Ryan's look of anger, not directed at him but at Rachel. It takes all of his resolve not to shield her.

"I have work to do, I hope there is nothing else you needed to inform me of?" This time, Ryan's eyes go to LeRoy before he answers.

"No, I'm sure you'll be kept very busy." The knowing tone of his voice alluding to the fact that despite Hiram's efforts, it was plainly obvious that to hurt Hiram, all Bryan Ryan had to do was to hurt Rachel or LeRoy.

Hiram watches the Peacekeeper turn smartly on his heels and march out. His high black boots so polished that it reflects the surroundings of his house. And it hits him that it no longer feels like a haven and even with all his planning, he may not be able to protect both Rachel and LeRoy.

"It's going to be fine." LeRoy touches his arm as if reading his thoughts. "They can't prove anything."

But even if that was factually correct, it has never stopped the Capitol from acting on mere rumors and innuendo. He has one more plan that he's been working on. A last resort should all his machinations not work out. He's never discussed it with anyone because it was akin to sending both LeRoy and Rachel to their deaths but maybe dying outside the Districts was better than at the hands of the Peacekeepers.

"I need to …I need to attend to something. Will the both of you go into town?" It's more of a plea than a question because he does not wait for their reply as he too rushes out, wondering if he can really send his daughter and only love into the wilderness in order to save them. There was a possibility that he really is over reacting and Ryan would not act on anything. But to take that chance with their lives was unacceptable. He had to act fast and if all went according to plan, he would send them away after the Reaping tomorrow.

#$#$#$#$#

"Rachel."

She turns when she hears her name, the boy or rather young man so familiar to her that she opens her arms to hug him. Finn Obsidian Hudson was her best friend. He was her confidant who kept her secrets and shared his own, up until six months ago when she found out he was planning on volunteering for the Games.

Her reaction almost visceral as she railed and screamed at him then, accusing him of so many things, none of them true but it just hurt so much such that she wanted him to feel what she was going through. In the end though, it didn't matter because all Finn did was to hug her for a good five minutes before kissing the top of her head and walking away.

It felt like goodbye and forgiveness even if she didn't want either. But Finn had avoided her after, eschewing the time they had always spent together in lieu of working in the polishing factory.

She had tried to reach out but could never bring herself to say what she knows he wanted to hear. To tell him that she was okay with his decision and she supported him. It had taken her some time to figure out why he wanted to volunteer; initially thinking that he was after some sort of sick glory.

But like everything in the Districts, their choices and decisions were always made not for their benefit but for survival or in service to the Capitol.

Finn's father had been caught stealing and in punishment, their rations were cut in half. Even without his father, his brother and mother could not survive on half rations but, he never told her and the only reason she found out was because she caught LeRoy leaving bread and cheese at their doorstep a few weeks back.

It finally gave her the impetus to reach out but by then, Finn had closed himself off, training every day, lifting weights and running to increase his stamina. Ignoring her notes and pretending that he didn't see her watching him every day that he passed her house to get to the factory.

So to have him reach out now could only mean that he wanted to make peace, not to continue their friendship but to say a final goodbye. And she cannot stop her tears as she holds on to him with all her might, her fingers curling around his biceps as she tightens her grip understanding that he would be gone tomorrow and possibly dead by month's end.

All of it done in the name of entertainment and a chance to secure survival for his family. It was unfair and she wanted to rail at their circumstance. But all she hears is Finn's quiet voice, trying to placate her, offering her comfort when he was the one about to sacrifice himself.

"Hey, it's going to be fine. You're going to be a hit in the Capitol, your voice loved by all. You'll forget all about me." And those words make her cry even harder because she cannot fathom living in a world where she didn't get to see his goofy crooked smile or to look up at his tall frame and understand that he truly cared for her.

"Rach. I…" And she cuts him off as she tiptoes to kiss him full on the mouth, wanting this one last memory to not be about death or saying sorry or regret but trying to crystallize what he meant to her and to change his mind if she could.

"Don't. Please don't say you're volunteering. We'll find a way. My father….he's mayor, he can pardon yours….or we can find a way, please Finn, please don't leave me." And it strikes her that even when she's trying to help him, it's driven by her selfish need to have him with her.

"He's tried Rachel." She can see that he's holding something back, his lips pressed together as he avoids her gaze.

"Tell me." Her voice insistent now because she is sick with people trying to shield her knowing in her heart that no matter what, her fate would always be controlled by someone else's whims.

"They executed my father last week." She staggers back at his words and it's only his strong arms that keep her upright. Burt Hummel who would pull coins out of her ears and make funny faces just to hear her laugh was dead, all because he wanted to feed his family.

"No, my father said he wouldn't…"

"The decree was signed in the Capitol. Your father did not know." It was of little relief either way to know that at least her father was not responsible but to also realize that her father's word wasn't law either.

"We've been shunned, Rachael." the concept so archaic but still so useful to the Powers that Be. Shunning a family meant literally cutting them off from any support, food supplies shrink and work dries up eventually resulting in their slow deaths. It was punishment for crimes committed by a family member; it was a lesson to be taught to everyone else. No one steals from the Capitol, no one gets away.

"Winning the Games is the only way."

Rachel knows Finn is right and there was nothing she could do or say to change that.

"Stand next to me tomorrow?" His tone hopeful and she sees that slight curve of his lips as he accepts his destiny and hopes she understands.

And all Rachel can do is nod before pulling him into a last hug.

**End Part II**


	3. The Reaping - District Four

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part III – The Reaping -District 4**

Quinn leaves her house early the next morning. Her mind already set as to what she needs to do today just in case. It's been a practice that she has cultivated for a few years. Making what small preparations she could just in case she was chosen.

Her first duty was to ensure that her father didn't drink himself to death on this damned day. When she was younger, she didn't truly understand what the Games represented to her family. The cost they had paid so early on.

It shaped her outlook, her inherent selfish nature stripped away when she realized the sacrifices made by her parents so many years ago, driven by circumstances beyond their control making her father the weak violent man he was today and leaving her with a distant memory of soft hands and a soft voice that she hopes is that of her mother, taken too soon.

She didn't find out until years had passed that her mother had been chosen for the third Games. It had been an arbitrary choice driven not by the lottery but due to the fact that her father couldn't come up with enough money or goods to bribe the Peacekeepers at the time. Already living his adult life with a newborn baby and learning his trade but not able to fully provide or protect his family. Resulting in a sad tale of a young mother, only seventeen, forced to leave her family behind and fight for her life.

Those early days of the Games with more in common to Roman coliseums that the slick television productions of now. Delayed broadcasts that needed to be edited together to truly show the gore and punishment in all its glory, to show to all the Districts the penance they must endure.

Her father never said anything, not about how he had to watch the love of his life die onscreen, not live like it was now but delayed for a day. Not knowing that she had died until he watched the program. It explained so much to her even at that young age, why he was so angry, why trade was important now and why he needed to lash out.

Most telling was it explained why he would lock himself in his room and drink himself into a stupor today, only turning up at the square when the names were to be picked before swiftly disappearing back home when her name was bypassed.

When she entered his room this morning, he had already consumed a bottle of the white liquor that was becoming more popular because it was cheap and readily available. The four more bottles near his bed signifying that he intended to consume more than he should and by taking two, she was going to be punished when or if she returned later that day.

Now standing at the water's edge, she feels better or at least more accepting of what she needs to face later on in the day. The swim would allow her time to think, to ground herself in the place she feels most comfortable in. And then she would do her rounds of the five or six chronically ill patients she had on her roster. Giving them a bit more of her herb concoctions just in case she wasn't around later.

Sam's mom was to be her last stop. Quinn knows that she has actually given everything she can but maybe just a visit would help Stacie and maybe show Sam that people did care even if it seemed like no one did any more.

The water is somewhat warm as it cocoons her and she swims out towards the horizon. There were a few times in the past six years when she considered just swimming until her arms gave out and she would then sink down and let go. Only, they were not even accorded that choice. The outer water break actually acting like a force field that prevented anyone from going further except for the fishing boats plying their trade.

Each boat and crew tightly controlled and the Peacekeeper assigned given full purview to shoot anyone who jumped overboard.

Even their deaths were controlled so Quinn turns around when she gets to the break water, swimming back and forth until she feels the muscles in her arms tense and she knows she has only a bit of time to do her rounds before finally going to the square.

Each visit no more than fifteen minutes because she feels guilty for not being able to do more except offer comforting words and mild sedatives. Despite the fact that she is always asked to stay, to join in whatever meager meal they had or to hear their prayers for her because they know the significance of this day, worried for their own children as much as for Quinn. She never stays for long and does not eat even if she's as hungry as they are.

Its two hours later when she stands in front of the small cottage, composing herself. The five visits undertaken so far, each taking its toll but she knows she should at least say goodbye here. She sees Stacie sitting at the window and she raises her hand to wave. The smile she elicits is welcoming such that she strides up the path not even pausing to knock as the door swings open.

Sam stands in the doorway, buttoning his shirt as he gestures for her to enter. He looks solemn and the house is so silent that Quinn can hear the doors creak and the wind gently hitting the window panes. "We have to leave soon." Despite the words, his tone is not unwelcoming. In fact, he's already pouring her a glass of milk even as she shakes her head, knowing how precious that liquid was.

"I…I already ate." The sudden growl of her stomach dispelling her words and she smiles when she sees Sam's raised eyebrows. "Or I will when this is over. I don't think I can keep anything down." And he nods because he understands exactly what she means.

"Would be nice to be able to throw up on Terri Del Monico if she ever called my name." Sam's reference to their District escort makes shudder even if the context is funny. She sees him give her a grim smile as her hands going around her middle. Escorts had singular roles and in most cases, they were vapid Capitol sycophants more interested in their time in the spotlight that the fact that their entire job was to keep the tributes company until their deaths and for one of them, maybe a longer time in the spotlight should their tribute actually survive.

Terri was different. She reveled in the violence not once considering the impact of their deaths just the entertainment value of their lives. Every year for the past six, she would stride up to the podium and even before anyone was picked, would congratulate all the children for being eligible for such an honor, to represent their District in the Games and possibly bring glory to all.

"Let's hope it'll happen this year. "Perhaps joking about it was the only way as she sees even Stacie smiling shyly. But it's fleeting as she realizes that it's Stacie's first reaping and she finally knows that she's made the right choice in coming. "We can stand together." She bends so as to be at eye level to the girl. "Maybe hold my hand?" Quinn says it like she needs it and Sam can't help but mouth the word thanks because he knows how scared Stacie has been these past weeks.

When she takes Quinn's hand, Quinn understands that she'll have to walk over to the square with the Evans'. Each year before, she would take the half hour to compose herself, hide her fear and sadness deep within such that when she arrived and her father would catch sight of her, he wouldn't be reminded of what he had lost and maybe realized what he still had.

She can feel Stacie's hand tremble in her own and knows that she won't leave the girl. It's her last reaping and maybe forgoing her ritual was also apt. It's then that she spots Mary Evan's in the chair by the window, looking outside into the distance as if waiting for someone.

She takes a step forward until Sam's arm stills her, his voice just above a whisper, "She thinks he's coming back."

Quinn's eyes widen in surprise, "But you brought his body…"

"I had to leave him…it next door. She wouldn't stop talking about him returning with more rations. Stevie was crying." Sam looks so much older than his seventeen years and Quinn feels like she is as well, forced to face things that made them lose their innocence so early on.

"Sam, get your father's clean shirt. He should be here soon. The sun is quite high." Mary's voice so normal but everything else, the way her fingers curl and uncurl and that desperate look on her face all point to a lost cause, until she turns to look at Quinn.

"Judy? I thought…I was so afraid when you were chosen."

Quinn is stunned. She knows her mom's name but hasn't heard in so long. Even her father never uttered it but to hear it now, to realize that she could be mistaken for her was a revelation as much as a reminder of what she too has lost.

"No, ma'am, I'm Quinn…Judy was my…Judy was my mom. She's not with us anymore." Her words acting like a wakeup call as recognition and grief flood Mary's face.

"They're dead?"

And all Quinn can do is nod not trusting her voice.

"We're all going to be dead. All my babies, they'll die."

"No." Quinn's answer is swift even if her voice is not that sure. "We're going to be fine. I'll…"

"Will you promise?" Mary's hand reaches out, pulling Quinn close as he words take on a fervored edge. "Quinn, will you promise, they will live, that my Sam, Stacie and Stevie will be fine. Will you promise?"

She really does not know what possesses her as she nods, her face solemn, reiterating her action with her words. "I promise."

"Quinn you can't.." Sam's voice cuts in but all she does is look at him and shakes her head. Only, she truly does not know if she's telling him that it's fine because she does not mean her words completely or if it's too late to take back any of it and he should just let it be.

What she does know is that she will continue to pray that her name along with a litany of others she knows will not get chosen today. She used to pray for so many different things, for her father to accept her and their lives, for love and safety and for the Games to stop.

Only, those prayers seemed to go unanswered and she eventually just prayed to not be chosen, adding names of friends her age, patients she had seen and people whom she thought needed help. Six years of prayers and by the grace of God, her name had never been called and neither had the ones on her list.

Quinn wants so badly to believe its divine intervention, that somehow, she's found a way to beat the Capitol, that her God was stronger. And she hopes that when she adds Sam and his siblings names to her list, she'll be able to protect them too.

It's then she hears the siren in the distance. A summons to the square, a call that signifies today, two shall be chosen. Families stream out of their houses, the path filling up but the walk is relatively quiet. No laughing children or women gossiping while the men exchange talk of work. Everyone silent, eyes downcast or focused on the children, each one hoping that today they will be able to still go home with each and every member of their family intact.

Quinn uses the time to pray, to say each of the names on her list and ask that they be spared. After six years, the list has grown, and she's not finished even as she lines up to report her name and has her finger tagged. Stacie has stayed closed, their hands linked and Quinn gives her an encouraging smile even as she sees her wince as the needle pricks her finger, tears already leaking out.

"It's over now. We can go and wait together." Stacie looks around, her face worried until Quinn points out Sam and where her mom and younger brother are standing. It's only when Sam give her a wink and a thumbs up does she finally shuffle her feet and walk with Quinn to where the girls are all congregating.

The sun is at its apex and Quinn feels the heat beat down, the only shade available is on the stage where Terri, the mayor and a number of Peacekeepers are standing, laughing and conversing, not at all impacted by the quiet pall that blankets all the people in the square.

Quinn is still praying though, the last few names to go, the Evans and then her own. Only she hears Terri's finger nail tapping the mike. They're starting early and she rushes through the names, not able to say her final prayer but hoping that its enough when she hears Terri's welcome.

"Citizens of District 4, how wonderful to see you all, dressed in your finery." She pauses for effect and to wink at the Head Peacekeeper and roll her eyes because finery was really stretching it but they're being shot live for the Capitol for the third year running and she knows that she can better her standing if she catches the right eyes of the people watching. So she continues, her voice filled with false cheer.

"The Capitol is kind, the Capitol is forgiving and today we pay tribute to the Capitol. We honor their sacrifice in the Great War and pay dues for our sins. Today, we choose one boy and one girl from District 4 to take part in the Hunger Games."

Terri walks towards the big glass bowl at the left side, her hand going into the bowl as she plucks out a name. She does the same when she walks towards the right side before going back to the mike at the centre.

"And now what we have all been waiting for, the names of this year's tributes. We start first with the boys." Terri rips open the paper, stares at the name before announcing it.

"Samuel Evans"

Quinn is stunned as she catches Sam's eyes. His expression mirroring her own as the crowd of boys around him move away, leaving him standing there looking alone and lost. He mouths something to her which she cannot make out because her eyes are filled with tears and when she wipes them away, it's too late as he's already walking towards the stage.

Stacie looks up at her and try as she might, she does not have any words of comfort, just the feeling that she's finally been abandoned by her God, that her faith though strong will never be as strong as the power of the Capitol. So all Quinn can do is pull the girl towards her, her arms going around as Stacie cries into her side.

It's then that Quinn spots her father, off to the side, even from the distance; she can tell that his eyes are bloodshot as he gazes back at her for a few seconds before turning away. She wonders if he'll look at her longer if her name was called.

"Well everyone, it does seem we have a fine specimen of a boy this year and now for our girl tribute. Let's see who we have…" Her voice trails off as she stares at the name before looking at Sam. And in that moment Quinn just knows but still she hopes that she's wrong.

She's prayed every day and her faith is still with her until she hears Terri's voice ring out. "Oh my, how absolutely amazing. I think we have a first ever for the games. Well, this will be interesting."

A murmur goes up from the crowd as people begin to put her words together, a cry from some of the women and Quinn just holds on to Stacie as she hears the next name.

"Stacie Evans."

Mary's voice is the one that is most distinct as she wails in anguish. The people around her holding her back such that even Sam moves forward only to have peacekeepers grab onto his arms. She does not let Stacie go even as the other girls create a path for her to the stage, all of them looking down or away, as if hiding their faces because of their relief at not being chosen.

Still she does not let go, her arms wrapped tightly around the little girl. Her eyes searching in the crowd, trying to find a way even as she realizes that no one can help.

"Come on, girl, we don't have all day." Terri signals to the Peacekeepers at the side who close in on Quinn and Stacie and only when Quinn feels them pull Stacie from her arms does she react, pushing and screaming, "No, you can't..it's not fair, you can't…please."

But no one listens as she's pushed to the ground and no one acts until she finally understands that it was her promise that needs to be fulfilled as she raises her voice again.

"I volunteer. Please, I volunteer as tribute."

**End Part III**


	4. The Reaping - District One

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part IV – The Reaping - District 1**

"Sing for me?" He doesn't ask her for many things so this request is something she immediately agrees to. It's still an hour or so until noon and she's been pacing around the house, almost overcome with worry that she cannot quite place. It's not really worry for herself but more for her father and LeRoy.

She had wanted to talk to her father about the incident yesterday, not only Peacekeeper Ryan's veiled threat but about Burt Hummel. She knows he shields her for a lot of things in the District, the singing lessons and private tutors sheltering her from the harsh realities that she knows permeate all their lives.

However, he had all but disappeared into his office, the door shut such that even LeRoy was not granted entry. She can see that he shares her worry and his request does not come lightly. So she launches into the first song that comes to mind.

Not one of those mindless ballads that are so popular in the Capitol but an old song, from just before the war. Banned from the airways and only passed on in secret. She sings it because it was LeRoy who taught it to her. For once going against her father's strict wishes and actually fighting about it, with him openly.

She remembers how angry both of them were, words hurtling back and forth, and only stopping when LeRoy had mentioned of Shelby. She never found out who Shelby was. Just that her father had never looked so sad and guilty at the mention of the name and did not interfere as she learnt the song. His only caveat was that she not sing it in public.

But Rachel sings it now. Her voice rising at the chorus as she calls for all to fight back, to sacrifice body and soul, to fight for freedom as much as survival. Its melody deceptively simple, the words so plain but the messages immensely clear.

Take up arms to fight for freedom, push back the yoke of tyranny and join in the ranks of your brothers and sisters. Making sacrifices with the knowledge that good will triumph over evil, that each individual needs to play their part and all their lives will be worth living. That people will sacrifice themselves for their brothers and sisters because it was the right thing to do.

She sees LeRoy's eyes fill with tears and she knows that he's thinking of someone that is not her father. It's times like these where she sees him in all his complexity and wishes things were different and he had the freedom to be who he really was as opposed to hiding as their help.

He surprises her when he joins in the last chorus, his deep voice blending with her own and the song becomes so much more than the sum of its parts. The fact that his emphasis on certain words make it sound less like a folk song and more like a call to war.

It's then that her father rushes in, his face lined with worry as he fumbles to shut the windows. "Stop singing, just please stop. Are you crazy? They're outside...LeRoy what have you done?" he sounds anguished as he places his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close, his words murmured in her ear. "Stand next to the stage. When the reaping is done. You will see a woman wearing a blue headscarf. Follow her."

Rachel has a hundred questions she wants to ask only he silences her with that one look. Like his pleading for her to accept and not ask questions that he cannot answer. Her eyes go to LeRoy and he understands her unasked question.

"He'll come with you and I will come later. You have to trust me. Sweetheart, remember I love you and I tried my best." His words sounds too final and it scares her beyond belief. And when he kisses her on her temple, she feels like the life she has known is over even if nothing has yet to occur.

"I'll watch over her." LeRoy always in on the plan because her father loved and trusted him and she does not grudge him that as she nods at his words before gesturing for him to join them in the hug. Her two fathers were her only family, her compass and her home and she does not know what she would do without either of them.

She hears the bells in the distance and shudders because she only hears them once a year and to her, they sounded like a death knell. "Remember what I said."

Rachel nods again before going outside. She's surprised to see more than a few peacekeepers standing there, turning her way as soon as she opened the door. They've never escorted them before and she sees Bryan Ryan flank her father's side as he signals for the other guards to walk behind them.

It's a good fifteen minute walk to the Justice Building. Newly opened and where her father keeps office. It always appeared benign but as she catches a glimpse of it and the closeness of the Peacekeepers all lend it an ominous feeling that she can't quite shake. She hugs him before joining the line of girls that are all waiting to be tagged.

She sees Finn in the boys line and mouths the words 'good luck'. She berates herself when she sees him give her a sad lopsided smile in return. It's a stupid thing to say to someone who was going to volunteer. And she wishes she could take it back only she really feels so powerless and just like a stupid girl.

After she has her finger pricked, she goes to stand near the stage just like her father had told her. She sees him talking to Dakota, an intense conversation that does not seem to be going well as Dakota Stanley shakes his head every time her father speaks. Her eyes drift to the Peacekeepers and she realizes that their guns are not slung across their backs but actually held in their hands and her feeling of unease rises exponentially.

It all happens so suddenly next, her father reaching out to pull Dakota Stanley by his lapels and Peacekeepers immediately surrounding him. She does not even think as she reacts, running up the stairs to push her way through just in time to see Bryan Ryan hit her father across his temple.

"No." She shouts looking around frantically for LeRoy who is also fighting his way to the stage. Its then that her father looks at her dazed, blood seeping from the wound on his head as he puts up his hands in submission. She hears his words but cannot understand their meaning.

"We already have two volunteers; please don't do this, Please."

Peacekeeper Ryan's voice is as cold as his blue eyes as he looks directly at her before answering her father. "Consider yourself lucky that this is your only punishment. The two volunteers will be announced but the Capitol demands justice and this is the smallest price to pay for sparing you and your…manservant."

"By taking.." Her father looks at her and Rachel somehow understands that they're bargaining for her. "She won't surv…Please, I'll do anything."

"You have so little faith in your daughter? I am surprised. But we will leave it up to her, shall we?" Ryan looks at her and she knows that he's expecting something from her. And she figures it out quickly enough when she sees him flick his fingers in the general direction of her father and the guns of three Peacekeepers are directed at her Father's head as Bryan Ryan's smarmy voice continues, "Let this be a lesson to you and to all. The odds will never be in your favor."

Rachel has always known that her father lived in a world of gray. He would always try his best to help while serving the needs of the Capitol. Likewise she knew of the suffering in the District but was still removed from the worse of it. Her only exposure was by helping LeRoy covertly. The three of them loving each other but still keeping so many secrets from each other.

"Please don't" Her words are directed at the Peacekeepers even as s she runs up to her father, going on her knees in front of his prone form, her fingers gently touching his temple and coming away stained with his blood.

"Rachel, sweetheart. Listen to me." His voice takes on that urgent tone, " You have to be strong. Don't think of me or LeRoy, please." He nods at her, like he's trying to tell her something else that underlies the words he is saying. "Remember the song."

Rachel does not like the message he gives her and shakes her head. She cannot not think of them considering that all her life, they had looked after her and ensured that she was safe. It was her turn now. And she is scared beyond belief to realize that she would need to volunteer. She looks into his eyes and can see his silent plea for her to understand and accept their sacrifice but she just cannot acquiesce this one time as she shakes her head again before kissing him on his temple.

She wants to say more but is pulled away, hands tightening around her arms, leaving bruises that she knows will not go away for a few days. Her father is roughly brought to his feet. But when he tries t go to her, rough hands hold him back such that the only connection they have is the look they share before her own vision is occluded as she is pushed back off the stage.

She sees LeRoy also surrounded by guards and wonders is today is the last day she'll ever get to see the both of them. Her seventeen years too short of a lifetime to tell them how much she loves them both but long enough to feel the loss so acutely.

Rachel steels herself for what she finally knows she must do. She can see her father, desperate and frightened, trying to catch her eye, trying to change her set mind. Likewise, LeRoy is also struggling to no avail. But all Rachel can focus on are the guns pointing at the two people she loved most in the world. Knowing that if she didn't act, she would lose them and if she did, they would lose her.

It really was a small price to pay for all their love over the years. They had managed to give her as best a childhood as they could and now it was time for her to make her own choices and take her own life in her hands. She knows she won't survive but at least she'll save two lives.

Rachel finally looks at her father once again and it breaks her heart to see him cry when he finally realizes what she intends to do. She glances at LeRoy and the look he gives her speaks volumes. He's proud of her but more than that, he intrinsically understands that they raised her in such a way that she could not not do this for them.

And she sees that he closes his eyes and she turns to listen to Dakota Stanley when he finally composes himself, his hands smoothing his silk lapels before going to the mike at the center of the stage. His high pitch voice so grating that she has to consciously resist the urge to cover her ears.

"Citizens of District 1, welcome to the Reaping. Today we chose two participants. Today we give the opportunity to one boy and one girl to represent this District and bring honor to their families. Today we pay tribute to the Capitol in the ways that have been agreed when the peace treaties were signed."

He intones the words, trying to give them gravity but all Rachel can decipher is that fact that his words are just window dressing to a barbaric ritual. She's unsurprised at his next proclamation.

"And as years passed, we ask for volunteers before we commence with the drawing of the names. Whom among you would stand proud for District 1?" He pauses as he looks around in anticipation.

Rachel's hands are sweating as she wipes them up and down her dress before putting up her hand, her father's hoarse cry not stopping her even as she averts her eyes because she knows that she would fall down to the ground crying if she saw his anguished face.

Dakota smiles widely when he sees two hands up but loses the smile when a third shoots up as well. It's unprecedented but also complicated because he values his own life and knows that the Head Peacekeeper wants a very particular outcome today and his own life could be forfeit if that does not occur.

He clears his throat trying to buy time as he figures out how to fix this. "Well…a first for our District. Not only do we not have to draw names but we..well…we may have to ..I know. What say we get the three volunteers up on stage."

He indicates for all three of them to come forward and Rachel sees Finn, his head held high as he walks towards the stage. And behind him, she sees Brittany Sapphire Pearce. Her eyes the main reason for her middle name. She looks scared but determined as she makes her way forward and then Rachel sees it, that slight nod in her father's direction, like she's agreeing to something and Rachel finally understands everything that has transpired.

Somehow, her father has made a deal, getting Brittany to volunteer thus allowing her a free pass at her last Reaping. And when she thinks back for the past six years, she realizes that for two of them, there had been volunteers and even for the other four, her father had been so focused on the audience, not looking at Dakota as he read out the names but at a few people off to the side. Like he was watching their reaction or maybe ensuring that they did react if necessary.

And Rachel cannot reconcile the fact that to protect her, her father has sent others to their deaths; that her life has been somehow special and more precious than the others even if she can't see the difference. Only today is where there is no difference, where her own hand is raised despite all the plans made by her father.

She makes her way up to the stage behind Brittany as the three of them stand next to Dakota Stanley, both Brittany and Finn towering over him and only Rachel at eye level. She's surprised to see fear in his eyes as he again clears his throat before looking at Peacekeeper Ryan and nodding.

"You know…" He finally addresses the audience, "Maybe we could even have our own little prelude to the Games, own own battle to see who wins in a fight to the death." The crowd is silence, the only snickers coming from the Peacekeepers. But it does not deter Dakota as he pushes forward.

"Only I'm sure this one will win so let's figure this out…" He gestures with his thumb towards Brittany.

"Why are you volunteering?" He thrusts the mike in front of Rachel.

For a split second, she wants to tell the truth, to say that she's doing this in order to save the lives of the two people she loves most in the world and by her count; her one life is the smallest price to pay and she could also save Brittany too.

But Rachel knows that she has to sell this because it wasn't about only volunteering any more but breaking her father and if she didn't give Bryan Ryan that, then her own sacrifice now was useless. "Because no one is above the law of the Capitol, least of all my father. I volunteer to fight in the Games, please just let me do this."

"Citizens of District 1, this is truly a first. Should we let her go through?"Rachel actually feels relief at the question but its short lived as Bryan Ryan strides forward.

His hand going to his side as he takes out his revolver; she can tell that its old, a relic from before the war and Rachel can't take her eyes off his hands as he expertly flicks the barrel open, his fingers taking out a number of the bullets within before flicking it closed again.

Its then that she truly understands what he plans to do and she feels like throwing up even as he walks forward, his hands raised to her head and his eyes so empty like this was another every day experience for him.

Rachel's eyes finding her father's as she sees him mouth 'I love you' before she hears the click of the gun as the firing mechanism meets an empty chamber. She can't help the sob of pure relief as it escapes her before her tow hands go to cover her mouth.

But Ryan does not stop there as he walks up to Brittany and does the same thing. This time, Rachel cannot bear to watch as her eyes slam shut even if she knows that she's a coward for doing so. But then she hears the click as well.

And when she opens her eyes, she sees him smiling at her and it makes her skin crawl but worse are his words as he speaks into the mike, snatching it from an open mouthed Dakota Stanley.

"Should we go for two out of three?" The crowd is silent, their faces etched with anger as much as fear.

"No? Well then we'll let the Gamemakers decide. Bring them all in."

Before Rachel can react, she's pushed towards the large doors of the Justice Building. And it finally hits her that it's probably the last time she'll ever walk through the doors.

**End Part IV**


	5. The Last Goodbye

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part V – The Last Goodbye**

Quinn paces back and forth in the small stuffy room, her hands swinging by her sides as she feels like the walls are slowly closing in. She really does not know what to expect or to be honest whom to expect to see right now. Traditionally, she understands that family members and loved ones were given a short time to say their goodbyes to the tributes.

In her case, she really is unsure if there was anyone who would show up so she's completely taken by surprise when the door crashes open and her father rushes in, his arms extended as he grabs her and slams her against the far wall.

His large hands curled around her upper arms and she can smell his breath, mint mixed with that sour alcohol smell. He towers over her but she's not afraid because she's already given up her life and maybe it didn't matter if she lost it here or in the Games.

So Quinn does not look away, instead she looks directly into his eyes and what she sees almost sends her to her knees. The emotions there hits her like a ton of bricks and it affects her more than the physical pressure he's putting on her.

For the longest time, she's always thought that he hated her. That his love for her was so tainted by the death of her mother and looking at her only reminded him of all that he had lost. But now, staring into his eyes, she actually sees love and overlaying that, so much fear that's reflected back.

She can see that he's shaking, his eyes bloodshot as he tries to get words out only nothing is said as he continues to stare at her so she says the first words that comes to her mind.

"I'm so sorry, daddy."

And it's like a trigger for him as he pushes his words out through gritted teeth. "You stay alive, you understand?" When she nods, he continues, his voice an urgent whisper. "You know how to heal but you know all the plants that can kill as well."

He does not wait for her acknowledgement as he continues, his hands tightening around hers like he needs to reiterate his words with his actions. "You know how to wield a scapel. When you cut through rotten flesh and bleed a patient. Use that, do you understand?"

And Quinn finally understands exactly what he's saying. He's asking her to kill and she cannot accept that even as she fully realizes the position she's put herself in. To save one life she may have to kill others. It's untenable in her mind but worse yet, her father seems hell bent on extracting that very promise from her because he wants her to survive this.

"You come back to me. You come back alive."

"I…I can't" She stutters the words out.

He pulls her forward before slamming her back against the wall, trying to make his point. "You can and you will, Jud…Quinn. Please you have to kill them all and come back to me."

She will never know for sure and won't ask him but somehow, deep inside, she realizes that he's had this conversation before. That he's extracted the very same promise from her mother only she never kept it and because of it, he changed so drastically into the man he was today.

Quinn does not know how to react because for the first time in so long, she feels like they are connected and that he does love her even if she could never truly show it in a way that made her feel wanted.

To feel like that now was borderline cruel but then he says the next word, so softly, like a prayer and a plea but not a command.

"Please."

It's a word she's never heard him use in a voice that she remembers from a distant memory and it breaks her resolve because she can't deny him this one thing even if she cannot in the end fulfill it, she knows she won't hurt him now by telling him that.

So Quinn nods again, her mouth in a thin line, her lips pressed together as her eyes blur with tears because she sees that he's crying too.

"Ok."

With that extracted promise he pulls her into a hug so tight, she can't pull air into her lungs but it's been so long since he's done that such that she does not mind. For Quinn, it's her way of saying goodbye even if her father won't accept it. She breathes him in, the small of mint and tobacco and that damned underlying small of alcohol and she knows that she also has once chance of extracting something from him too.

"Promise me, you won't drink, not another drop. Promise." Her voice is as serious as his was and she can see him debating internally as to whether to acquiesce. She's a bit surprised that he does in the end and Quinn feels that prick of disappointment that it's taken her sacrificing herself to reach this stage. But still, this was better than nothing as he bends down to kiss the top of her head before turning to leave the room.

She does not expect anyone else, only to be completely blindsided when the door opens and she sees a small line outside. Recognizable faces of people she's treated and friends on her prayer list. All of them waiting patiently outside; each one coming in to hug her and offer words of comfort, thanking her for her sacrifice and past help.

Quinn does not cry as she listens to them. She's saving it for when she's finally alone because they're ascribing deeds to her that she knows she cannot take credit for but yet she also cannot deny them their hope.

She makes it through almost everyone, feeling so tired and spent but she still stands in the room, not wanting to sit down until she sees who is finally at the door. Mary looks so much older than this morning but worse yet, Stacie's eyes are filled with so much guilt that Quinn staggers backwards into the chair in the corner.

Sam's been chosen too and the promise she made to her father is still ringing in her ears. To save Stacie, she could end up killing Sam or vice versa. Quinn really does not know what to say here or how to react as she finally lets the events of the day settle over her, and she bends forward to cry in her hands.

She does not realize that Mary's arms are around her until she hears her voice. "Shhh, just let it out. I'm here." It doesn't remind her of her mom because she's never had that sense memory and for that she's actually grateful.

What it does though is that it allows Quinn to finally let go as she sobs in Mary's arms. Soon however, her tears dry up because she can see Stacie wringing her hands at the opposite end of the room and Quinn knows she needs to let the girl understand that she has nothing to feel guilty about.

"You're going to grow up strong and proud and you'll look after your mom and Stevie." Her voice is hoarse and soft but Stacie nods at each of her words like she's committing them to memory.

"Sam will watch out for you."

And Quinn feels like crying again because Stacie sounds so sure even if Quinn knows that that's not how it happens in the Games. But Mary's voice chimes in as well, "He'll do right by you."

"He has a chance to win this. He shouldn't have to….he can't…" Quinn knows she speaks the truth. Despite the malnutrition in the Districts, Sam was still healthier than most. His time on the boats and meals there giving him an edge. She's never seen him fight but she figures that he'll be able to do what it takes to get back home.

However, instead of answering, Mary reaches out, her hand cupping Quinn's cheek, "We may not have much but we pay our debts in full." Before Quinn can answer, she's out the door and Stacie lingers back long enough to give Quinn one last hug and message.

"Stay alive and trust Sam."

#$#$#$#$#$

Rachel's curled up in the corner of the large room, her head down as she waits, praying and hoping that she at least gets her good bye. But its been an hour and no one has come and Rachel is close to giving up hope.

She does not want to think that her sacrifice has amounted to nothing and despite the fear growing inside, she still has this small flicker of hope that her father and LeRoy are alive. She hears the key turn in the lock and looks up when the door opens, finally able to breathe again when her father limps into the room.

His clothes are disheveled and there are new bruises marring his features but he was alive and in the room with her such that she launches herself at him, her hands going around his middle as she buries her head in his chest.

"I was so scared that you were…" She can't even verbalize that horror but it's the fact that the door has shut and LeRoy is not there that makes her stop short as a new question forms on her lips.

"LeRoy, where…he's not. Please daddy, tell me…"

"He's alive." It's the way her father has phrased the words that makes her understand the underlying meaning all too well.

"Shielding me isn't going to protect me anymore." She does not want her words to sound accusatory and tempers them with a shrug.

"They broke his arm, wouldn't stop kicking him until he lost consciousness. Said he was trying to enter the building without permission." Hiram does not look at her as he recounts what had transpired, his eyes focused on something in the distance as he stares out the window.

"I'm so sorry."

Rachel does not want his apology because she truly understands the position he was in and the decisions he thought he needed to make. He had done so much for her and she needs him to realize that she's actually still more worried for him and LeRoy than for herself.

Rachel knows she doesn't have a chance in hell of surviving even the first day of the Games so this really was her last chance in making amends. "The arrangements you made…" She looks around furtively, not wanting to say anything more specific just in case.

"You'll still go through with them." She holds his larger hands in hers as she gazes up at him, hoping that he'll understand and give her at least the understanding that he'll leave with LeRoy. Only he smiles that sad smile of his.

"Rachel." And by the way he says her name, Rachel can already tell that he has something else in mind. But she cannot accept anything more knowing that the lengths he would go to in order to try and save her. This was the Hunger Games and she knows that its futile for him to think that he could help her.

Her fate was sealed the second she put up her hand and she does not regret that decision one iota. Her only regret was not seeing LeRoy one last time. "No. Just please …you and LeRoy. Please tell me that you'll be ok. I just need to know that. Please."

Hiram has never believed in miracles but right now, he knows in his heart that his miracle of a daughter can make it through this. She had come to him by accident, borne of an act that still haunts him today. But it never affected the way he felt for her, the love that came so naturally.

She was LeRoy's biologically but he loved her so much that it didn't make a difference in his mind. And right now, all he can see is the fact that she's given up and just accepted her fate. She was so strong and smart and he needs her to see it too because she does have a shot at this even if he knows that the experience would change her immeasurably. However having her alive in any form was better than having her dead.

"You can't give up."

Even as he says the words, he can see that she cannot bring herself to believe him because she just does not believe in herself. And maybe that was thoroughly his doing in trying to shield her from so much. If he maybe had just let her see what was happening or even experience more, she would have better faith in herself.

He does not expect her to turn into a killer, he himself can't actually picture that but she does have one skill that he's only now realized she's been honing all these years. "You've known all along haven't you? Even before this week."

It seems like she's known about him and LeRoy for so much longer than she's let on and the people outside the door, waiting to see her, to say good bye. He recognizes most of them because he knows that LeRoy has helped them in the past in one form or another and it seems that his daughter had also done the same.

"Yes."

"And you've been helping LeRoy. Circumventing the punishments of the Peacekeepers and feeding those that they have shunned."

Hiram does not know whether to rail at her or hug her for the risks that she had taken but one feeling overrides all else because he knows that she's so much stronger than she believes herself to be. He envelopes her in a hug as he explains her own gift to her.

"You can lie. Use it, I don't care if you have to do it blatantly and then shoot someone in the back but use that."

And she looks up at him, not really accepting his words even if he can see that she knows they're true.

"You have to lie to win. Gain their trust. Use Finn and Brittany and whomever else is there to protect you and then you have to do everything you can to live. Promise me."

Rachel knows she's kept secrets and to an extent lied about what she actually knew to be true. But she had done so out of love. To do it in the Games and then betray those who would help her, it was something she knows she cannot do in good conscience.

He's always been able to read her and he knows that he won't get her to agree to this unless he gives her more of a reason to come back.

"Your mother…"

He hates to do this as he sees her stiffen. Her eyes wide at the implications of his words and though he's not her biological father, they do share a blood link through his sister. She gets her ability to lie from them and he does it now with ease. He wants to save her and to do that, he needs her to save herself.

"She's alive in the Capitol. You need to stay alive, meet her, and come back to us. Rachel, do you understand?"

It's been something that she's definitely kept secret. Never broaching the subject, biting her tongue and drawing blood each time she's felt the need to voice a question. Rachel does not know why but it always seemed like a taboo subject, an unattainable goal like freedom or surviving the Hunger Games.

"You can lie, you can make any of them believe that you'll align yourself with them, gain their trust. Do whatever it takes, do you understand? Do it during the training, before the Games start. " He's crying openly now.

And she does understand even if she does not know if it changes the way she feels although she does not know if she can deny him this. She'll be able to lie but to kill is still so far removed from what she knows she can actually do, it doesn't matter if she agrees to do as he says.

It may buy her a few days and maybe that would be enough for her father to accept that she at least did try. So she nods but does not say anything else as she clings to him, saying her own silent goodbye.

**End Part V**


	6. The Gamemakers & The Tributes

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part VI – The Gamemakers and the Tributes**

"What are we going to do with twenty five tributes?" Sue Sylvester flings the file towards the curly haired man in front of her as she shouts in frustration. Her plans for this year's Games had already been drawn up, splitting the tributes up evenly into two teams and thrusting them into two very different settings, a scorching desert where she's almost guaranteed good visuals of tributes dying of thirst or fighting for that last sip of water.

And in complete contrast to that, a lush forest setting, seemingly benign but filled with booby traps created by her team. It surpassed the settings created by past Gamemakers and was even better than her urban setting last year. Only with twenty five tributes, she really does not know how to divide them. "What do we do with that damned extra girl?"

Will Schuester hates his job even if he realizes that he's actually good at it. In the beginning, it had been easy to pretend that it was truly a game and his main job was to ensure that ratings kept going up and the entertainment value also increased. And staying in the Games room meant he only got to see snippets of the action as he dealt with lost signals or bad reception.

It was only last year when he had been taken ill, a stupid flu bug that caught him unawares and left him sick at home watching the Games instead of working behind the scenes in the Games room. When he finally saw the fear and violence that his job made possible, the lives lost because someone somewhere pressed a button or triggered a trap, he got sick all over again. So he does not move at the file hits him and he wonders if it was too early to get a drink.

"Well?"

She's waiting for him to say something and as always, he does not disappoint even if he feels like throwing up. "Put her in the middle. Divide the teams and put her in the middle with the best supplies strapped to her." He sees her looking askance at him intrigued by his idea so he continues.

"The first person from the team to her gets her and the supplies. Make the teams battle each other for her instead of amongst themselves as a start. Make her the prize because whichever team gets her, gets a slightly better chance to survive. Tell them she's off limits as a start" He hates to see the grin on Sue's face at his plan because he knows that it's good even if it sickens him.

"Keep her alive for as long as possible and then when the team starts to turn on each other, then it'll be more of a bloodbath, more betrayal and definitely more ratings. Will Schuester, your curly oiled hair may give me the heebie jeebies and cause me to take more baths in a day that I should but you sir are a genius."

#$#$#$#$#

Over the course of the next day, different convoys are dispatched to the Capitol, each bearing the two tributes, their escort and if they were lucky, a past winner of the Games to guide them along. Not all Districts had that and the few that did, District 2, 3, 4, 8 and 10 seemed to use it to their distinct advantage although more could be said for luck than skills in winning the Games sometimes.

The journey is made as comfortable as possible, food and drink provided at any opportunity and for most of the tributes, it's their first glimpse of the possible variety of food they've only read about but never tasted.

Being closest to the Capitol, District 1 arrives first. Packed into a truck with tires taller than she was and blacked out windows, Rachel feels like they've driven for hours, not knowing if it was day or night any more until the vehicle finally stopped. Stepping out into the waning light did not affect her first ever view of the city that controlled their lives.

And the view was breathtaking, the small twinkling lights increasing steadily in number as night fell makes the city look almost magical but Rachel knows all the fairy tales and how fairy lights and gingerbread houses can hide the most hideous of things.

She sits by the window in her assigned room now, listening to the low murmur of Finn and Brittany's voices as she sees the other tributes arrive, looking tired and scared. She assumes that they come in order due to the distance of each of the Districts from the Capitol.

So the boy and girl from District 2 are big, the boy possibly as tall as Finn and definitely bigger. And all she can picture is his large hands going around her throat. It's an image that stays with her until the next truck rolls up. The two tributes each holding something in their hands, a mechanical contraption of some sort and it's easy to guess that they're from District 3.

She almost falls asleep at the window until she feels someone's eyes on her and when she gazes down, she's taken aback to see a blonde girl looking up directly at her. Even from the distance, she can tell that the girl is beautiful; her blonde hair in waves around her face but it's her eyes that are mesmerizing.

Rachel does not know what possesses her but she raises her hand and waves. She does not expect a response and the girl just stands there, hands by her side but eyes locked on Rachel and it's as if time had stopped and all she can focus on is that tenuous connection of looking at someone and actually feeling something amorphous but real. She sees the blonde's hand move slightly.

"Rachel?"

Finn touches her shoulder and she jerks to face him, "Umm..I.."

"Are you ok? You should eat something. Get your strength up, me and Britt have been discussing ways we can maybe..you know work together.." He extends his hand to her.

Rachel looks down and the girl is gone and she feels so alone but Finn's actually looking out for her and she knows that she did make a promise to her father to at least try so she takes his hand.

#$#$#$#$#$

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Sam sees Quinn standing in the moonlight, the ambient light reflecting off her hair giving her this delicate look but her eyes are focused on something as he sees her hand begin to rise only to stop.

Quinn has this view of angels, not the traditional halo and wings but a quality that just encapsulates everything that is good in the world even if her world was confined to a district and her life ruled by others. Like her faith, she knows that there will be people whom she meets that are different, inherently good and special, angels on earth who looked down with empathy and love.

Stepping out of the stuffy truck into the cool night air gave physical relief but also made her feel so small as she gazed at the tall buildings surrounding them. It was only when she looked up, trying to see the moon but finding something or rather someone looking down on her does she feel a bit more like herself.

Her tired mind projecting but still, there was this quality to the girl, something indefinable and when she waved, all Quinn could do was stare to make sure she was real. She looked ethereal and Quinn wonders if her eyes are really playing tricks on her. And just as she decides that the girl is real and raises her hand, she disappears and maybe she really is hallucinating as she turns to Sam.

"I..Nothing, I thought there was someone but…" She sees Terri walk up towards the apartment, nodding to the Peacekeepers guarding the entrance. Quinn does not follow yet, instead she waits for the last passenger to alight.

Shannon Beiste had won the first games when she was barely sixteen year old and since then, she's never spoken a word, not about the experience or even about any other things, just staying silent when people around her would talk or ask questions. And each time she would just look at them, eyes filled with so much emotion but just not speaking.

But her silence actually brought comfort to Quinn during the journey, her inner voice already so loud in her head, echoes of her promise to her father mixed with his urgent voice pleading with her to come home. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt Shannon take her hand in her big ones, a small squeeze, no words of comfort but just the acknowledgement that she actually did understand exactly what Quinn was going through, complete empathy on her part.

She sees Shannon alight, her face filled with anger which only dissipates when she sees Quinn looking at her. She turns to look at the Capitol skyline, jagged edges and shards of buildings crammed together and Quinn has to hide her smile when she sees Shannon lift her hand and gestures with her middle finger before turning back to wink at Quinn.

It's the most overt show of defiance Quinn's ever seen and it makes her feel that maybe there was a chance that she was still her own person and could play the Game in her own way.

#$#$#$#$

"Have you seen any of the others?" Lucio speaks aloud even if his eyes are glued to the device in his hand but he knows that Claudia will respond because she's doing the same thing, playing the stupid game and trying not to think about what they'll have to eventually face for real.

"Just a glimpse when a door was opened. I think from District 6. Thin and pale, easy to kill, maybe. You?" She's not really focused on the game in her hand but it's a better distraction than thinking about the Games. Besides, the handhelds she was holding was a simulation of the past 18 games, tactics and all the opponents built in. It was enough practice for the real thing.

"I think so. But three of them, a tall guy and two girls, one blonde and one brunette. Cute." He sees Claudia actually look up at him with raised eyebrows.

"What? Unlike you, I don't spend all my time in front of computer screens programming, you know." He smirks at her because he's actually more adept at building things, models, robots, anything with a battery and some simple purpose. A skill quite valuable in District 3 and it would have served him well if he didn't get chosen for the Games.

"Probably not tributes then, there should only be two."

Lucio shrugs, it would be a pity if the brunette was part of the games and he would have to contemplate killing her. He does not think of it any longer as he goes back to playing his game seeing that Claudia was doing the same.

#$#$#$#$#

Dave Karofsky knows that he'll actually kill Suzy Pepper the first chance he gets. He really does not care about District Solidarity or whatnot, her grating voice and ridiculous views were just calling out to be silenced and he really cannot wait to get his hands on a weapon and then bam, he was just going to bash her head in with it regardless of what it actually was.

"Did you hear about District 1?"

The question takes him by surprise because of course he didn't hear anything. They just got in only a few hours ago and he was still trying to not throw up all the food that he had gorged on the ride over. And even though he dreads hearing her voice, she may have information that he could use in the Games.

"What about District 1?" He can see that she's anxious to spill, to gossip about the Districts that are close to the Capitol, unlike them, coming from District 10 where livestock outnumbered the population 100 to 1. It was probably so different in the other districts, not that he knew for certain.

"They have three tributes, all of them volunteers." She sounds amazed and to be honest, he thinks it's a load of crap. No one in their right mind would put up their hands for this. It was down to dumbfuck luck or lack of it in his case.

"You're delusional. You know what? Just don't talk to me and remember you better run when that whistle blows because…" He mimes a bat as he points to her head and takes a swing.

#$#$#$#$#

"Where are you going?" Azimio turns to see Abby looking at him, wide eyed and scared. He knows that she's almost fourteen but still small for her age and he feels the simmering anger bubbling just beneath try and take over, anger at his fate and that of this small thin girl.

"It's none of your goddamn business." He sees her flinch at his words and wonders if she'll even survive the first few minutes of the Games. He knows that he shouldn't care and he had to look out for himself if he actually wanted a chance at surviving the Games. No one has ever won from District 11. They were considered outcasts an afterthought for the Capitol despite their valuable contribution of grain.

One of the furthest Districts, deprived of most of the basic amenities but still under their control. Maybe winning would prove something, give them something to root for, maybe fight for. "Just go back to bed. I'm going to see who else is here, who we're up against. Maybe learn something that will help." His tone is softer and he sees Abby look less frightened.

There really was no way she was going to survive and he knows that perhaps it would be kinder to just let her die the first day.

#$#$#$#$#

Quinn knows she should get some sleep but it's almost impossible to, considering that she knows she'll just dream of blood and death. Everyone was supposed to be locked in their rooms but the Peacekeepers guarding them seem to be new, recruits maybe, more interested in the free flow of drink and food than actually doing their jobs.

It's easy for her to sneak out and she sees a few other tributes, all of them keeping their heads down, quickly melding into the shadows as they too explore their home for the next week or so. Never making eye contact and therefore never having to think of each other as people instead of as targets to kill.

By her count, she's see tributes from District 3 and 11 and maybe 8 but she can't be too sure as they pass each other in the hallways, ducking into different rooms, trying to remain inconspicuous while making full use of the short amount of time they had left. Relishing pseudo freedom with the knowledge that in the days to come, they would have to kill to survive or die trying. So as if by design, they never acknowledged each other or give names to faces because connections like that never lasted in the Games.

Quinn makes her way to the staircase, knowing that the elevators were shut down. She knows a number of the tributes go to the rooftop but she hates the thin wire mesh that encapsulates it, preventing an unobstructed view of the sky and a stark reminder that they were all trapped here.

Instead, she goes downstairs, wandering the halls, avoiding guards and tributes until she gets to the boiler room. It's warm and the steady hum of the old boilers letting her relax even if she knows she won't fall asleep. She settles on the floor near the door, eyes closed as she tries to relax.

#$#$#$#$

Rachel knows she's hiding and that it was a futile gesture. But she just could not sit and listen to Finn as he tried to explain that he would try and protect her even if he knows that eventually they would have to go their separate ways because if he wanted to win, he would have to kill everyone, including her.

She cannot bear to hear the guilt in his voice as he valiantly held on to his belief that he could help her. She knows that he wants to win and he would have to kill everyone, including her and Brittany. In the end, it was Brittany who became the voice of reason as she highlighted that there really was not much any of them could do in terms of planning.

The rules were ever changing, drawn out of the convoluted minds of the Gamemakers and only when they were in the arena could they see what awaited them, if they were immediately thrust into a fight against each other or put into small teams or even separated and forced to hunt each other down.

Each year something different because they had yet managed to settle on a formula that worked. Finn had tried to argue but in the end, all Rachel could do was tell him that she needed time to think as she slipped out of their room, ignoring Dakota's Stanley's warning that she would be punished if she stepped out of bounds. Her reply back of 'What do you think they'll do, kill me?' still bringing a grim smile to her face as she makes her way through the maze of hallways while avoiding the Peacekeepers patrolling about just in case.

She hears their rough voices coming towards her, joking about fresh meat and bloodbaths and she scrambles towards the staircase, running downstairs and stumbling into the basement, not sure where she was going but trying to get away from the voices just in case.

She pushes at the doors, each of them locked and begins to panic only just stopping crying out loud when the final door gives way and she scrambles into the room colliding with something on the floor such that she goes sprawling down, hitting her chin causing her teeth to cut her tongue and draw blood.

#$#$#$#$

Quinn almost lashes out as soon as the door burst opened spilling the girl into the room. She tumbles over her outstretched legs and hits the ground with a thud. And Quinn realizes two things almost instantaneously, it's the girl from the window and by virtue of her actually being real, she was most likely a tribute as well.

"Are you ok?" She reaches out when she sees blood at the corner of the girl's mouth only to have her recoil back as if afraid.

"Sorry, I…" Her words dying on her lips when the girl finally turns around and makes eye contact. Brown eyes meeting Hazel ones, recognizing something in each other, a connection forged in another life maybe or linked by providence, a nebulous tie that cannot be explained except Quinn reaches out and Rachel takes her hand.

Quinn does not dare to speak even as she helps the girl to her feet. Not really sure what to say or how to start. All she knows is that the girl is real and looking into her eyes, acknowledging something within, seeing the swirls of emotion almost palpable was all a bit overwhelming.

The second Rachel makes contact; she knows that she shouldn't have. The feel of the warm hand in hers , so sure as she's helped to her feet, those eyes so full of life that it makes her think of blue skies and laughter. Only, she knows that her own life has been forfeit, weeks maybe days of it left.

"Are you ok?" Quinn's voice is soft and low as her hand reaches out, tapered fingers gently touching the side of Rachel's mouth, her thumb catching the drop of blood there.

Rachel nods, "Thank you, I …there were Peacekeepers." She glances back at the door, her expression morphing to fear such that Quinn finds her hand and give it a squeeze. "I don't think..I don't think they come down here. I'm…Quinn."

The name hangs between them, as Quinn holds her breath, feeling the need to know this girl even as she puts together all the pieces in her head and understands that they are on opposite sides of a divide so wide, there was no middle ground.

Expressing herself has never been difficult for Rachel, either physically or more often than not, vocally. Her voice able to convey the myriad of emotions she had bubbling within her. Except right now, when she feels that she wants to reach out, to maybe forge a connection but she can't because something stops her.

She can see her entire situation so clear in her mind from the brutality of the Games to the need to lie in order to survive. Only, she can't bring herself to do this because what she feels right now, looking at the girl and what she knows she needs to do are so far apart. Such that she finally snatches her hand away as she scrambles back on her feet and runs out of the room.

"Wait, please, I only want to…..help.", Quinn's voice dropping on the last word because she realizes that she really could not render any help that would make a difference.

And Rachel does not stop even if the voice makes her want to turn around and forge that connection. She barrels out of the room, this time not caring if she ran into any Peacekeepers because all she realizes is that her situation is untenable and she won't in any way be able to kill or lie to anyone, most of all Quinn.

**End Part VI**


	7. First Impressions

**The 19th Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part VII – First Impressions**

Everyone in the Districts started their day early. Some at the break of dawn while the rest just as the sun was rising. So to have the ability to sleep in was a luxury that most of the tributes took comfort in, if only for a short while.

The leisurely breakfast that followed where food was abundant but still the tributes ate as if it was their last meal which for most of them, it would be a countdown of sorts to when their lives would be forfeit.

The Gamemakers observing all of them via cameras placed throughout the complex, knowing who had left their rooms and who had made contact, trying to discern how best to run the Games in order to get the maximum amount of production out of the tributes. It was a show after all, evolving over time from the ones from before wherein no blood was shed and no one died.

The progression so obvious once the idea caught hold; how to bring the Districts to heel and entertain the Capitol in one fell swoop, televised for consumption and kept for posterity in order to remind all of the punishment that awaited those who dare to defy.

And each iteration tweaked from the one before to ensure more entertainment value, an industry building around the Games, past winners fettered, escorts sought out and stylists volunteering in order to make a name for themselves. The channel beamed 24/7, showing past games and interviews, the commentator, Kurt Hummel, garnering his own fan base.

It was all a big production that never once questioned the basis of the Games or the fact that the deaths were not only unnecessary but cruel in the extreme, the punishment of the Districts accepted by all and borne by tributes and their families. Each of the Games driving home the point that no one really wins except for the Capitol.

But Will feels like this one may be different. He cannot explain why, maybe it was just his conscience finally kicking or maybe it was the encounter he had witnessed in the basement. Reviewing the raw footage was a thankless job that normally he would rush through. Only he had been struck by that one encounter in the basement, a fleeting connection that even through the dim images on the screen, seem to resonate with him.

"So what do we have?" He jumps as Sue's authoritative voice already making him feel like he needs a drink to get through the day.

"Some cursory interaction, a few drunken Peacekeepers and this…." He pulls the video file of the meeting of the Tributes from 1 and 4.

"So what are we watching?" Her question is cursory as she seems more interested in looking at the physical stats of all the tributes, age, weight, height and any particular physical traits they could use to their disadvantage.

"It may be nothing.." He's not really sure if this was something they could exploit but it was worth a shot.

"Spit it out Schuester, I don't have all day."

"The tribute for District 4, their first volunteer, she seems to have made a connection with the Mayor's daughter." He knows a bit about the debacle from District 1, Terri was a gossip who was angling for a promotion to District 1 or 2 and kept tabs on whatever was going on there. So she had filled him in on the gossip about the mayor's personal life along with the reason for his daughter's forced volunteering.

"And..."

He knows she's losing interest and wonders if he should just let this go, only he can't quite bring himself to do it. "We can use it, boost the Capitol ratings, make them invested as they see their friendship develop, control the outcome until the viewers are invested.."

"And then BAM.."

He jumps at Sue's words, "Yeah, until then...", his own words resigned. He knows that he will definitely be having a few drinks to get through today but in his mind, he still feels that maybe he's not done something so bad.

#$#$#$#$

"Have you seen all of them yet?" Santana Lopez looks at the names and faces flashing across the screen, her question posed to the other three people in the room. She hasn't as yet met any of the tributes and by the looks of the pictures flashing on the screen, there was no way her skills no matter how amazing, could turn most this batch of tributes into anything more than farm boys and village girls who apparently didn't own a hairbrush.

She sees Mercedes shake her head as she looked over the potential clothes they had for each of the tributes introduction. Costumes that are meant to represent the Districts contribution to the Capitol but sometimes taking on a slyer slant of parading the tributes as objects rather than actual people. She knows Mercedes wants to change that even if she thinks it's futile to try.

Blaine just sighs as he stands next to her, his pencil quickly capturing the faces of the tributes on his drawing pad. She sees he's already got a favorite or two and wonders how he'll take their deaths this year.

However the one she is most concerned about is Emma, the woman was still cleaning all her brushes and she notices that she just takes a bit longer each time she does it. She's a great makeup artist but just too high strung and Santana wonders why she does what she does. For the past three years, she's really been deteriorating, each of the deaths of the tributes taken personally by her.

Emma meets her gaze and she sees fear and sadness there and she just shrugs because it's always been a job to her, just a job. She won't let herself think otherwise. Her family was dependent on this pay check and she accepts that if she didn't do it, someone else would.

"Well ladies,.…." She turns towards the voice and nods at Shelby Corcoran. She was the first to come onboard and build a team of designers and makeup artists for the Games. Using her skills and parlaying it into a lucrative job and becoming an insider in the Capitol. Always looking sharp and put together except for today.

"Is something wrong?" She looks pale and shell shocked almost and Santana needs to know if she'll have to cover for Emma as well as Shelby today.

"No..I..It's nothing." She never thinks about her past. As far as anyone knew, she was born in the Capitol and she would die here. No family and definitely no daughter. Because she would not be able to function otherwise, knowing about her hand in all of it, even indirectly. She needs to pull herself together, to think and plan and maybe, maybe do something. Her team looks at her expectantly and she takes a deep breath, "Remember, they're all scared so just act normal, joke, talk about the weather or the color schemes. Let them face reality tomorrow."

She sees Santana nod at her before the Latina turns to the others, "Good, we're meeting them in half an hour. I hope you're all feeling inspired because they going need a lot of work."

#$#$#$#$#

_'Lie'_  it resonates in her head and each time she speaks to Finn or Brittany and especially now when she's finally looking at all the other tributes gathered in that small room. Only a few making eye contact as the rest look at their feet or hands or stare out of the only set of windows in the room.

Rachel notices the ones that she just knows are primed to kill, the beefy guy with the scowl and the two other big ones with the shaved heads. Those were the ones who would stare right back, assessing and committing their targets to memory. She shudders, only to feel another set of eyes on her and this time, she knows that they belong to that girl.

The one with the low voice and the kind hazel eyes; the one whom she had dreamt about last night and who was looking at her or at least trying to even if the blonde boy by her side was whispering urgently in her ear. His body angled as if blocking Quinn from other people's view including hers but somehow, their eyes meet regardless.

And she feels this pull to want to say something to her; maybe to acknowledge that there was a connection of some kind except Rachel knows that it would do no good. They could never be friends because in the end, there could be only one winner. So she holds her tongue even if all she remembers of the day are hazel eyes with flecks of gold.

Rachel tries not to lose sight of her even when the prep team arrives to prepare them for their first introduction to the Capitol. She does not pay them much heed except to follow their instructions as they divide the girls from the boys, herding them into large showers where they are washed and scrubbed down, their skin raw and red and Rachel once again notices Quinn.

Her tall lean body glistening in the dim light, her eyes once again meeting Rachel's and the fear she sees in them finally spurring Rachel on as she finally acknowledges the blonde and she nods and tentatively smiles.

There is no time to feel embarrassed even as all the naked tributes are herded into another room filled with clothes. Some of the boys are leering at them and Finn goes red as he tries to keep his eyes on the ceiling and not on anyone. Quinn wraps her arms around her front and Rachel notices the large hulking boy staring at them. And deep down, she just knows he is going to make the first kill when he smiles and winks at her.

But even he does not scare her as much as the chatter of the prep team. They're talking color schemes and costumes, laughing and joking even as the tributes stand there dazed and confused. Putting clothes on them and ignoring the fact that in a week or so each one of them would face death. She can't really tell id they were all that insipid or so immune to this fact and even as Rachel hopes it's the former, she can't know for sure. Only understanding that it truly is a game here in the Capitol and they were all expendable.

She gets flowing pants and a jewel encrusted top, heavy and trimmed with lace. Brittany gets the same and Finn ends up with a jacket studded with the same jewels, sparkling and bright. She turns to see Quinn in blue, like the sky she thinks. Until the girl turns around and she sees there's green flecks in the one piece leotard and green frills on the arms and legs, like seaweed. Each costume resembling their Districts use to the Capitol and it then becomes so easy to guess the ones from District 10 and 12, Cattle and Coal and also to acknowledge that Quinn's from District 4.

They're marched onto the stage in pairs except for her. She feels singled out as she's pulled to the front, standing before Finn and Brittany. She hears Kurt Hummel's voice announcing their names and Districts, Quinn Fabray and Sam Evans from District 4, the blonde boy holding tightly onto Quinn's hand.

They stand at the perimeter of the stage, looking out at the audience as they are judged, bets taken and opinions formed. It's only the beginning but already she can see that there are some favorites. Dave Karofsky from 10 and Sam getting louder cheers but so do Quinn and Finn. When it's her turn, she's just as surprised when the applause gets louder.

And she does not know how to react because she gets that they may like her but Rachel also realizes that these very people have no qualms about cheering on her death either. And it finally hits her that she does not want to be part of any of this even as she sees the same realization on Quinn's face. On most of the faces of the tributes except for the few that she knows are primed to kill.

Then Rachel hears Kurt's voice again informing the audience that the Games will start in a week and in the meantime, they will get to see the training and background stories of all tributes.

Its then that she notices the Head of the prep team staring at her. She feels self-conscious even if she knows that ever since she put up her hand, her life no longer belonged to her. But the way the woman looks at her, eyes boring into hers and that look, a cross between disbelief and fear.

She does not know how to react and almost calls out only to have the Peacekeepers herd them off the stage and back into the room. She's undressed quickly this time and all of them are sent back to their rooms for an early night because tomorrow they start training.

#$#$#$#

The rules are explained as they're all standing around the large room, each station giving them a taste of a skill that may help them in the Games. It's ludicrous to think that learning something in a week would give them an edge somehow over each other. But Rachel sees some of the tributes looking serious as they head for the weapons and booby trap stations.

She's pulled by Brittany as the girl moves towards the smaller stations off to the side, teaching knots and weaving and they actually spend more than an hour doing that. She sees Finn going toe to toe with a few of the other boys, using the swords, spears and shields. And try as she might, she can't help but keep track of Quinn.

She's with the small dark girl, Abby, Rachel's almost sure that that's her name. They've spent all their time at the plants and insects sections, tasting funny bugs and making poultices or something.

"Do you know her?" She hears Brittany's question but doesn't really know how to answer. She doesn't know Quinn even if she feels this pull towards the blonde. The touch that first night and those hazel eyes have stayed with her.

"No..I…No I don't."

"Well, that guy seems to want to." Brittany points towards Dave, the tribute from District 10. He's been looking at all the tributes, noticing everything and it makes her shiver. His eyes on Quinn now as they narrow as if he's planning on something but Rachel does not understand until she sees Sam, District 4's other tribute getting into a scuffle with Dave, harsh words exchanged and a fight resulting that only stops when the Peacekeepers pull them apart.

"You idiots." The head Gamemaker's voice booms out. "There was only one rule you really needed to remember today, save it for the Games. The next person to step out of line gets solitary."

It does seem to make an impression as everyone goes back to what they're doing, only Rachel can still feel this underlying tension as she tries to focus on Brittany and the weave in her hand. She sees Quinn finally move on and she does have this urge to follow as the girl walks towards the First Aid station but it's next to the knife throwing one and Rachel almost twitches every time she hears the thud of a knife embedding itself into the wooden targets.

She just cannot bring herself to go there though until she sees Dave grab a knife, turning his body somewhat, his eyes finding his target. And Rachel does not think of anything as she rushes forward just as Dave lets the knife fly, handle first.

She barrels into Quinn just as the handle connects with her side, sending air out of her lungs even as the pain makes her almost pass out. They fall to a heap on the floor as Rachel gasp for air. She sees Quinn looking at her wide eyed, her hand reaching out to hold hers before they're pulled apart. Peacekeepers streaming in to forcibly move them back to their rooms.

Rachel hears Dave fighting with them as other tributes seem to join in and she sees Sam rush towards Quinn pulling her towards him even as she tries to reach out for Rachel again. It's not the first day of training she would have wanted but at least she realized that finally did something that she wanted to do as she passes out.

**End Part VII**


	8. Hidden Talents

 

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part VIII – Hidden Talents**

"You definitely made a first impression." Dakota's high pitched voice breaks through her sleep induced state as he pulls open the curtains in her room to let in the light. She regrets twisting in the bed when she feels a sharp pain in her side. And realizes why when she looks down to see a blue black bruise marring her body and remembers what happened yesterday.

"Seems like the group training today and the individual sessions have been reworked because of that stunt you pulled. That was delicious, my dear." He looks at her, his eyes gleaming and she cannot fully grasp what he's trying to allude at as she just stares back at him.

"You know, getting that boy into trouble. No one would have noticed what he was doing but you did. The ensuing fight got a few of the tributes sent to solitary which means missing out on their training but also getting them pretty angry at you probably." The smile he gives her makes her skin crawl.

And instead of endearing herself to her fellow tributes and taking her father's advice, she's done the exact opposite but she actually doesn't feel bad about it. Aside from the pain in her side, she actually feels good today until she hears Dakota's next words. "You've also been assigned your own guard and stylist. Seems like you're definitely becoming a favorite."

Rachel knows that, that just meant she'd be a target from the onset so she just shrugs.

"At least tell me you're going to dazzle them with your talent?" Dakota cannot fathom what that actually could be although he's already been surprised by her once.

Rachel shrugs again, not really sure if what she intends to do would qualify as a talent necessary to win the Games but she was still going to do it anyway and she knows that if she was a favorite now, she wouldn't be after what she plans to do.

#$#$#$#$#

"Why do you think she did that?" Sam looks at Quinn sitting by the window, her profile turned away from him but he knows she's thinking over the same question. As far as he knew, Quinn didn't know the girl yet she had protected Quinn even if Sam knows that he was the one who had promised to do so.

He sees Quinn finally turn to look at him, "Do you think she's hurt?" She had heard Rachel's cry of pain but had been too surprised to react and when she tried, Sam had pulled her away and all she's left with was Rachel's scared look burned into her memory.

"Yeah, I mean it would have hurt but I don't think the damage would be permanent. Although…" He sees Quinn stare at him and he's pretty sure she's not going to like what he has to say. "She's definitely made herself a target after doing it. I mean she didn't have to draw attention to herself and she did…for you…" It's the last part that he still does not understand although he knows if he would have done the same if he had noticed what Dave was going to do. But it seems like it's not going to be something he'll understand anytime soon so he changes the subject because he's still concerned about her life and he takes his promises seriously.

"I thought I'd take some time today, maybe show you some wrestling moves, some knife work maybe." She's always look so delicate, pretty and he cannot imagine her fighting even though he knows that she'll be forced to soon and even if he does his utmost to protect her, there will always be instances like yesterday where he just would not be fast enough.

Quinn smiles for the first time since she arrived at the Capitol as she stands, gauging the distance he is from her before she launches herself forward into a handspring somersault and landing into a roll in front of Sam.

There were no real organized sports in the schools in the districts but Physical Education was still a must and Quinn enjoyed the tumbles, somersaults and leaps taught then. Practicing by herself when her father was busy ignoring her, reading the old books from the musty library about gymnasts and cheerleaders and wondering if that could have been her life if she had been born before.

"Whoah, that was…can you show me?" Sam finally feels that maybe there really was more to Quinn than just a girl who healed.

#$#$#$#$#$

They spend the day together training and Sam's a good student but also a pretty good teacher as he shows her how to handle a knife, different from when she would use a scalpel although she does remember the feel of cutting through flesh.

But throughout the afternoon, all she can think of is to try and sneak out tonight and to maybe see Rachel. She needed to say thank you at least but also maybe find out why she did it, Sam's words about Rachel being a target now as prominent as her own father's words about doing what she needed to do in order to survive.

Only Quinn does not know which room Rachel is in much less if the brunette would want to see her so she does the only thing she can think of as she goes back to the boiler room and waits. She does not come empty handed and hopes Rachel will accept her overture if she showed up.

She feels like an idiot when four hours passes and no one shows up and she stands, knowing she should get back to her room and at least try and rest a bit so she wouldn't be so tired for her individual session with the Gamemakers in a few hours.

Only she hears the door knob turning and when it opens, she's again hit but that feeling like they're connected as her eyes lock on to Rachel's. "Are you ok? I …thank you for what you did…are you hurt?" Quinn's words tumble out, soft and tentative as she hold out something in her hand.

They didn't have access to any medical supplies but they did have access to foods both processed and unprocessed and the mixture of arnica, sage, potato and onions should help with bruise she knows Rachel's sporting.

"What is it?" Rachel didn't know if Quinn would be in the room and she hadn't come earlier because she didn't want to be disappointed but she just couldn't stop thinking about her and the pain in her side wasn't really subsiding either which meant no sleep anyway.

"It's a poultice, for your side." She sees Rachel's hand go unconsciously to her side and steps forward, her hand slowly lifting Rachel's shirt and she can help but gasp at the nasty looking bruise that has formed.

"I guess it looks pretty ugly, huh?" She says it through gritted teeth because even if it did look bad, Rachel knows it hurts worse that is until she feels Quinn's gentle hands make contact.

"I'm sorry." Quinn places the linen bag over the bruise, trying to be as gentle as she can when she sees Rachel close her eyes and grit her teeth.

"Why?" Rachel tries to focus on the pain and not that point of contact of skin on skin. "You didn't hit me." She smiles or rather grimaces as she says the words.

"You could have just let it hit me." Quinn sees Rachel shift and meet her eyes and she's hit again with this sense of a connection.

It's the first time Rachel lies, "I guess I was just looking for attention although if I thought it's hurt this much, I probably wouldn't do it again." She sees Quinn nod at her words.

"Good, because I'm not worth…You should just look out for yourself." Despite Rachel's words, Quinn still feels somewhat beholden and when she looks into Rachel's eyes and sees so much emotion in them, like this storm within just raging to come out, that she somehow knows Rachel isn't telling her everything.

"Maybe I…"Rachel's just as mesmerized by those damn hazel eyes that she almost speaks her mind only to stop and change tack, "Why? I don't have a chance in hell of winning this so maybe being the first to go isn't that bad." Rachel sighs on the last word as if already weary even if the Games haven't started.

"So why volunteer?" Quinn wants to understand this girl even if it's just for this short amount of time.

"Why did you?" Rachel's question back is expected and Quinn does not hesitate as she answers.

"They picked his sister….Sam's. Two from the same family and there was no question of whether it was right or wrong, just acceptance but I…It wasn't right."

"So you took her place?" Rachel finally gets the definition of selfless even if she thinks it's just a damn waste to learn it in this way as Quinn nods at her words.

"They were going to hurt my father…my fathers and I…I could stop it if I volunteered." She wonders if telling the truth now, negates her first lie and if she keeps track of them, she won't feel so back of telling them in the first place.

"Are you scared?" Rachel knows she is, that constant state of fear that grips her senses. It's not fear of dying but just the method, knowing it was sanctioned and used for entertainment and she was just an unwilling participant.

"Not of dying, just of…"

"Losing yourself." And even if she didn't want it, there is more of an understanding between them now as Rachel finishes Quinn's thoughts and they sit in silence together, only going back to their rooms an hour later.

#$#$#$#$#$

The individual sessions are supposed to be secret, the ability to show off a skill and maybe influence the Gamemakers into taking that particular skill into consideration. A chance to convince them to change the Games somewhat in someone's favor or just ensuring that the skill in question could be used.

It had happened in the past where a particular weapon was introduced where it wasn't used before or even a certain situation specifically created in which a tribute could use their skill to their advantage.

It's the session Sue is most interested in because she gets to see potential and once in a while, even exploit that potential and see the outcome work spectacularly. She has high hopes for this particular batch and settles in her chair as the mayor's daughter enters.

Rachel actually welcomes being the first in this instance. She has a feeling though that the tributes that come after would either hate her for doing this or be happy at the fact that her so called talent had no place in the Games.

She walks into the large room and sees the Gamemakers all sitting on a dais at the front, some looking at her while others busy on their communication devices or talking to each other. There are the usual weapons scattered about as well as rope and other things that one could show some skill on. But Rachel ignores all of it as she goes to the center of the room and starts her song.

She sings quietly at first and can see the confused looks of the people as they try and make out her words. She hears the tune so clearly in her head and slowly builds up on the song until an older man in the back rises up in protest, shouting the word stop at her. Except Rachel ignores him, her eyes on the woman in the front who is still sitting in her chair and staring right at her.

Rachel does not push it as much as LeRoy had as she refrains from singling out those specifics words, instead just singing the song straight through, her voice beautiful and melodic and even through the confused looks of the Gamemakers, she can see that they are astonished by her voice. She holds the last note for longer than she thought she could. And in the end, she just nods to them before walking out.

#$#$#$#$#

Rachel does not know how the rest of the trials went although she does try and listen in when Terri, the District 4 escort comes over.

"What did your tributes do?" Her voice is hushed as she pulls on Dakota's arm.

"What do you mean?" Despite his questions, they hadn't told him anything much about what they were going to do. She knows Brittany was going to show her ability to climb almost anything and Finn was going with his ability to use most of the weapons there. And even if they didn't understand why she had sung, they did support her.

"There is a rumor that one of your tributes has done something unexpected." Terri needs to know, not because she wants to get an edge for her own tributes but mainly because she knows information will get her ahead. "My tributes were quite good, the girl is apparently quite nimble on her feet and the boy can use a knife in a lot of different ways."

"Well I guess we'll see the results tonight." Rachel actually smiles at Dakota's reply, surprised that he didn't at least share some of what he knew.

Terri leaves soon after in a huff and Rachel actually spends the rest of the time in Dakota's company, waiting to see the scores from the trials.

They're all sitting in the room as Kurt Hummel goes through his usual introduction on the Games and how this year will be different. He cycles through all their names and faces and then talks about the scores. The 12th Games having the most number of tributes with scores above 9 out of 12 and no one ever getting 12 as yet. He alludes that it could happen this year.

Finn gets a 9 and Brittany an 8 and Rachel almost misses her score because she's congratulating them, only when the 10 is appears under her picture, she's flabbergasted. She does not say anything though as she watches for Quinn's name, somewhat relieved when she sees her get a 7 while Sam gets a 9 as well.

In the end, its Dave and her with the highest score and she really does not know how to react because it just reinforced the fact that she would be a target no matter what.

#$#$#$#$#$

Even though there was no agreement to meet up, Rachel sees Quinn already in the boiler room sitting on the floor as if waiting for her. As always, she's taken aback by how beautiful Quinn is and she's hit by a sense of loss and longing, both feelings so intense and pulling her in two different directions. She wants to reach out, to really make a connection here but she knows its short lived and maybe better not to experience anything that to know it will be gone.

"You got a 10." Quinn's voice is tinged with awe even if she looks worried for her.

"I sang. That's all I did. It was a song, it was just a song." She's been going over the scores in her head and the path she had been on ever since she volunteered and she finally understands that the Games in themselves were always going to be rigged in some way. Not arbitrary like someone having a bad day and giving out a bad score but orchestrated on a high level. Everything they did, all the decisions that she thought she had come to on her own, had been in some way influenced by the Gamemakers and the Capitol.

She hates that feeling, hates the realization that she is not her own person and it spurs her on as she finally locks eyes with Quinn. This girl, this pull she feels, Rachel knows deep down that it's real and she needs to prove to herself that she's not some puppet as she goes to her knees in front of Quinn, her hand reaching out to cup Quinn's cheek.

She doesn't care that the Capitol has deemed feelings like hers and that between her father and LeRoy are wrong. In fact she thinks that she needs to do this in order to prove them wrong, She still sees fear in Quinn's eyes and is unsure if its fear for her or of her but she's driven by a different need now as she leans forward to kiss Quinn.

#$#$#$#$#$#

"Well, that's just not going to do." Sue's leaning over Will her hand shutting off the screen and erasing that footage. "We'll have to stop this before it gets any further. It's a good thing her score was so high, she's definitely going to be the first to fall."

"What if…" Will's talk to Shelby had been weird and cryptic but somehow he got the distinct impression that she knew more than she was saying and on his end, he definitely knew more than he was sharing as well. And somehow he feels that whatever was happening between Quinn and Rachel was something they needed to show even if not in its entirety. "What if we just show parts of it, their bond but not anything more, it will still work. There's this thing between them, you see it, I know you do and so will other people. we just don't need to show all of it. Think of the ratings."

And he can see Sue considering it. "Are you willing to bet your life on this?" He thinks she's joking even as she looks right at him and he realizes she's really not. "Maybe all that stuff you put in your hair has affected your brain but that.." she indicates towards the screen, "is not sanctioned and if even one thing got out on to their TV screens…"

And Will understands what she's saying but he nods anyway, "It won't. We'll cut away, show the deaths of all those tributes but their story, their link, it will shine through and it will be something so different to watch, a contrast that we've never had in any previous Games."

"Fine, but it's your life." She's not really sure why she's agreeing to this considering the Games were already different and probably going to be so much more violent this year but maybe Schuester was right, that stupid connection between the two tributes was going to be the biggest contrast to the violence to come.

**End Part VIII**


	9. Let The Games Begin

 

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part VIIII - Let the Games Begin**

**The Present**

Rachel feels the blades of three knives and large axe that are currently strapped to her back, cut into her flesh. But she knows she cannot move, not unless she wants to be blown to bits. The pouches of food and other supplies strapped to her sides acting like a counter balance as she stands on the small metal plate knowing she cannot step off until one of the tributes takes her place or manages to deactivate the mine beneath it. There are small knives and some food scattered away from her but Rachel knows that she is the focus or rather what she has with her.

She sees them all looking at her, eyes squinting in the sun even as some try to figure out how to get to her or to get to the supplies she's currently carrying. Her own outfit seemingly much more elaborate than any of theirs. All they're wearing are pants and a t-shirt while she's decked out with a jacket, a utility belt and cargo pants with zippers and compartments.

So that when the two lines of tributes look at her, all they see are supplies and a better chance at survival but not a person who herself wants to live. No one else allowed to carry anything in the Games except for her. She was to become their pack horse, hence, to access the supplies, they needed her to stay alive because if dead, her body and whatever she's carrying would be taken away.

She had listen to the prep team as they dressed her, understanding that all of it was connected to her in some way, steeling herself against the pain as they inserted wires into her flesh, linking her to the weapons and ensuring that all the supplies were controlled only by her. As long as her heart continued to beat, she would be able to open each compartment and give access.

The only part she didn't get was when the Head of the Prep Team held on to her hand before injecting her with a capsule between her thumb and pointer finger. The pain taking her by surprise but not as much as the woman's whispered words. "Your father sends his love." Rachel had been too shocked to process the words much less their meaning but she recognised the woman's eyes even if she cannot bring herself to acknowledge anything else.

But even if Rachel had wanted to question her, it seemed like she had imagined it as Shelby started explaining the one new rule of this year's Games. The rule that would keep her alive up until the supplies ran out or someone decided that she wasn't useful any longer.

Rachel stares defiantly back now, at all the twenty three tributes staring right at her. She does it mainly because she wants to catch Quinn's eyes, to say that one last goodbye but the blonde does not look at her and Rachel knows that it's all her own damned fault.

Only she knows that having Quinn hate her was better than having Quinn dead and even if her heart ached so much that she actually feels like stepping off the platform and ending everything, she doesn't move. Her eyes finally settling on the blonde at the end of the tribute line to her left, who is looking down at her feet.

Rachel needs just one more reminder to carry her through these last days as she sends up a prayer to Quinn's God, she needs to see hazel eyes just one more time and it would have to be enough. She already felt like she was dying so she knows the real thing wouldn't be so bad.

And as if by some miracle, she finally sees Quinn finally raise her head and meet her eyes. And she wishes she sees hate in them and hoped that she would see love but all that is reflected back is hurt such that she almost staggers off the plate only to catch herself. Her throat is dry and she really can't form words so she does the one thing she knows Quinn will understand.

She forms an L with her fingers and puts it over her heart. And when the whistle blows and she sees the rush of a number of tributes in her direction, all she can see is Quinn looking at her one last time before running towards the forest, away from her.

**48 hours Earlier**

"Are you ok?" Will's voice startles Emma as she drops the brush she'd been washing for the past ten minutes. She turns to look at him, her eyes wide and brimming with tears as she shakes her head.

"They're all going to…oh my god.." She covers her mouth and runs towards the bathroom and Will knows exactly what she feels like but he does not follow her because he cannot give her any comfort since he knows he has a hand in all their deaths. Instead he looks for Shelby. The message she left him was cryptic and he wonders what she wants with him now, their relationship already stalled before it actually began but still they remained friends. And he knows she wants to tell him something but hasn't built up the courage as yet.

"Will." He hears his name and sees her beckoning him towards her private room in the back. He's more than surprised to see a few sketches scattered around, that she tries to gather before he can get a good look only to realize they're of the mayor's daughter from District 1. He used to be able to call them tributes, distancing himself but just not this year.

"What are these?" He snatches one away and it hits him. The similarities he sees in the drawing to Shelby and her reaction is almost visceral as she looks at him, stricken. "Who is she to you?"

"I can't let her die, Will." Hiram's anxious tear filled voice already ringing in her ears. She had wanted to avoid the call but relented because he was her brother and she owed him her life. But hearing his devastating news and his plea for help was almost too much and even now, she knows there was little she could do but she would still try regardless.

And as soon as he realizes what she's asking of him, Will shakes his head, almost wanting to laugh. His own words making her go pale. "She's already dead, most of them are except for maybe the boys from 10 or 2."

"Please, there must be something, she's my…she's my daughter." She has never said those words out loud but saying them now makes her finally realize what she's already lost and that strong impetus to not lose Rachel. "I'll do anything." She grabs his arm, her words promising anything and Will knows that he can take advantage if he so chooses, only he cannot imagine what it must be like to lose someone in the Games.

All he knows is his own hand in their deaths and that feeling like he's drowning and the only thing that he can do is drink to forget. "There's nothing to be done." But even as he says the words and sees the effect they have on Shelby, he thinks that maybe, maybe they could do something because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to last the year.

"They're.." He stops to correct himself. "We're going to keep her alive…at least for the first few days." They had asked Santana to design a special outfit for Rachel Berry. That had been Sue's brilliant idea. Initially, they were just going to make her carry a pack but Sue wanted more drama and insisted that the weapons and food be as much a part of Rachel as they could manage.

The tributes would have to learn to use Rachel to kill as much as to survive. It was devious and so very like Sue to think of it. But Will knew that it could be used as well.

"Your team is going to make the outfit. Ensure that the weapons are attached and the food strapped to her, only available bit by bit. Each compartment only allowed to be opened one at a time." He looks straight at Shelby, hoping she understands exactly what he's saying.

"We're having the inventory sent up in a few hours." He really does not know what Shelby can do in that short span of time but it's really all he can do here.

"She will have access to all of it?" Shelby's question at least giving him some indication that she has maybe an idea of what she could do.

"In time, yes." ' _if she survives'_ He does not verbalize that thought even though he sees that Shelby understands.

And when she nods at him as if grateful, he really hopes that she really does manage to do something because he's pretty sure that he won't be here this time next year.

**24 Hours Earlier**

All she knows is that she will die and so will the girl currently in her arms. That only thought so prominent in her mind such that she let's herself react to whatever she's feeling even if what she knows and what she feels in her heart are so diametrically opposite. Such that Quinn feels pulled in two directions, her heart and soul anchored with the girl kissing her but her mind still stuck on the fact that the Capitol and her father's religion would deny them and she would die for this.

She cannot reconcile how something that feels so right, so good can be wrong and after that first kiss, when she had pulled back and looked into Rachel's eyes, the choice in her head was so simple. Her faith was built on love and acceptance and there was no denying that she finally understands fully what that means right here, right now.

So when Rachel looked back at her with some trepidation, as if she was afraid and did not know what to do next, Quinn leaned forward, her hand gently going to Rachel's neck as she pulled the girl forward to resume the kiss.

It's all so new to her and somehow, she knows that it's new to Rachel as well, like they've been two halves of a whole but never realizing it until this very moment. Somehow, recognizing in the other something undefinable, a gravitational pull towards each other that felt right even if everything else around them was so fucking wrong.

So Quinn gives herself fully, not holding back as her hands roam Rachel's body, finally giving in to the need to feel as close to the girl as possible as she allows Rachel to pull off her shirt. Her own breath lost when Rachel removes her clothes.

The kisses are feather light but she feels each and every one of them mark her, their imprint burned into her skin and all she feels is this sense of being loved. It's a feeling so obscure in her mind that she has trouble identifying it at first only to finally understand that what she feels for the brunette currently kissing her is pure love.

Quinn's hands roam Rachel's body, finally cupping small breasts as Rachel nips at her neck and every sensation is new and almost unbearable because she knows it cannot last, that what she's found will disappear tomorrow and she cannot do anything about it except to fully experience it now.

The kiss Rachel bestows on her is different form the others, not as urgent but still demanding. "Don't think of it, not of the Games or any of it." Rachel's whispered words pleading in her ear and she tries her best to acquiesce.

She feels Rachel's fingers roam downwards as she arches her back, knowing what is coming and wondering if she would feel the same sensations again, that feeling of being powerless and still in control at the same time, of connecting body and soul with someone if only for that instant but to have that instant expand in time because it's a connection forged of love.

Quinn's going by instinct and need, not really understanding what's driving this but feeling such a strong pull to Rachel that she does not second guess her reactions. That first kiss initiated by Rachel opening a floodgate of emotions so strong, that all she accepts is the singular impetus to know Rachel inside and out, to taste and explore the brunette and captures that essence she had seen that first time she laid eyes on her.

"Oh God, Rachel.." She literally sees stars, her vision blotting out as soon as Rachel's fingers enter her and she buries her head in the crook of Rachel's neck, their bodies pressed together such that Quinn can feel Rachel's heartbeat even as she taste the salty sweetness of Rachel's skin.

"It's ok, I'm here, I have you, I'm here." And all Quinn can feel is Rachel there with her, surrounding her, making her feel safe and warm and loved. Everything else that occurred up to this point in her life had been difficult if not outright bad but if that was what was needed in order to get to this second, then Quinn doesn't regret any of it.

She blinks open her eyes to see Rachel staring at her. "You're an angel." She makes an L with her fingers and holds them over her heart. A symbol of love from her District that she knows Rachel won't understand but it's the only thing she can do.

The blush it elicits from the brunette is making her feel things that she knows will lead to other things and it just spurs her to kiss Rachel in that one spot that makes her moan her name in that beautiful voice of hers.

Each kiss now preceded by a word." You are my Angel." This connection she feels is so strong such that her next words are to be expected even if Rachel feels completely blindsided.

"I'll protect you. During the Games, no one's going to hurt you. I promise. I'll tell Sam. You'll be safe." The kiss Quinn bestows on her on that last word is so sweet even if it feels like ashes to Rachel.

Because even if those words were the one that she knows she wants to hear it wasn't supposed to be like this. It made this thing between them seem tainted, it made her feel like she'd planned this.

"No." Her voice is strained as her hand goes to cup Quinn's cheek. "No, that's not how it works." She knows her eyes are tearing because all she feels is this need to touch Quinn, to make the blonde feel all these emotions that she has within her.

"I don't care." Quinn reaches for Rachel hand, pulling it towards her and kissing her palm. "You're going to be safe."

And Rachel knows that Quinn means it, no matter how impossible it was to do. She was going to do everything in her power to protect her which meant she wouldn't be protecting herself which would lead to her being an easy target. And one word suddenly becomes so crystal clear in her mind that she has to bite her tongue from saying it out loud.

_'Lie'_

Her father was right. She really was so good at it that it colored all her decisions and even if she knows deep down she wanted this from the second she had looked in Quinn's eyes, Rachel knows what she does not want is to have Quinn's death on her hands.

Even before she says the words, she can feel her heart constrict but she says them regardless. "This never happened."

She keeps eye contact even as she pulls her hand out of Quinn's grasp, just to see her words take effect. How Quinn puts them together in her head and looks at her askance because she does not understand.

Rachel actually feels physically ill and it's a wonder that she can actually articulate anything but she does even if she feels pieces of her heart slice off each time she says another word. "Don't you get it?"

She focuses on the crack in the far wall and not on Hazel eyes brimming with tears. "This never happened and I'm going to get dressed and walk out that door and while you were….good." She sees Quinn shudder on that word and it almost breaks her resolve but she knows she has to be stronger than that.

"That's all it's ever going to be. It's in the past because we have no future." Her voice is so damn fucking calm even if all she wants to do is to reach out and never let Quinn go. But she stays perfectly still and it's Quinn who finally moves.

No words or eye contact as Quinn gets dressed and its only when she reaches the door, her hand on the handle does she angle her body towards Rachel but still does not look at her. "I…I won't ever forget this." The words so softly spoken that Rachel has to strain to hear them over the noise of the boilers. And even when she does, Rachel does not know what to make of them.

She had broken Quinn's heart and Rachel knows that it's something that no one could forget even if deep down, she wishes Quinn was talking about their love and not the heartbreak.

**1 Hour earlier**

They had been transported in batches, divided into 2 teams each dressed in the same color. The twelve of them dressed in blue while the team of tributes that left before them were in red.

She sees Finn staring at her even as Sam tries to stare him down. And the Tributes from District 2 looking ready for a fight, while the ones from District 3 not making any eye contact and it surprises and scares her that Rachel is not there. Even if to a certain degree, Quinn is glad for that.

She didn't think that her heart could take seeing the brunette and never being able to touch her in a way to show that she was special or acknowledging that they had shared something special. Rachel had been clear about their encounter. Not wanting to acknowledge it at all, wanting to forget even if Quinn won't ever be able to do so.

However, its only when the Gamemaker with them mentions Rachel's name does she finally understand how this year's Game is to be played. How the arbitrary teams they created were all going to have to fight each other while trying to get to Rachel. Every single tribute there would want Rachel alive and with them because she had what they needed. To every other tribute, it would be weapons and supplies but to Quinn, Rachel had her heart.

And Quinn hates that she feels relief at that but she does and it's the only thing she thinks about the entire time until she's standing on the plate, her eyes looking at her feet. She feels Rachel's eyes on her and only when she figures out what she needs to do, does she finally make eye contact.

Quinn won't hide her hurt but when she sees Rachel lift her fingers to her heart, she understands completely what she wants to do and just waits for the whistle to blow.

**End Part VIIII**


	10. Dog & Bone

 

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part X – Dog & Bone**

Rachel knows she's still alive only because she feels the acute pain of her heart constricting at the sight of Quinn running away from her. Only Quinn runs in an arc and then skids to a stop before turning around to stare at her. Some of the tributes running towards her stop to pick up small knives or packets of food, while a few of the others continue on, knowing she had better supplies like food, medicine and water but more importantly, weapons.

When they're near enough though, they veer off a bit as they notice the plate she's still standing on and she has to put her hands out to stop them before yelling that her mine is still active.

Nick, the large boy from District 2 does not seem to believe her as he grabs hold of the knife on her back, only, it does not release and his other hand shoots out to grab her around her throat in frustration. And that contact finally spurs Finn into reacting as he tries to pry Nick's hand away and Brittany already looking around for something, anything to put on Rachel's plate.

Sam had seen Quinn run the other way and without understanding anything, he follows her anyway. "So what's the plan?" He can see from her solemn expression that she has one and hopes she understands that he's on her side whatever that entailed. He does not want to think too far ahead but he made a promise to his mom and he won't ever forget that.

Quinn had guessed that it wouldn't be easy to get to Rachel. Some of the tributes were already fighting each other as she sees one or two go down, blood staining their clothes. "They're already turning on each other... "Her voice is tinged with surprise and fear even as she sees Sam's mouth set in a grim line as he nods at her words.

"So if you have a plan, we need to put it into action soon." However, before she can react, his hand reaches out to pull her towards him. Quinn tries to pull back only to see the boy from District 6, Axel, rushing towards them, his teeth bared and a small dagger in his hand.

Quinn feels Sam's arm around her, almost pulling her off her feet as he pivots on his front foot before throwing a punch at the oncoming boy. However, it does not stop his momentum as all three of them fall hard to the ground when the boy makes contact, his knife opening a wound on Sam's upper arm.

Quinn kicks out, her foot eliciting a grunt out of Axel as well as his attention as he turns the dagger on her. Only Sam is determined to keep his word as he scrambles to his feet and kicks Axel in his side before aiming a kick at his head. The sound of Sam's foot connecting actually makes Quinn sick as she turns her head away.

"Good, don't look." She hears Sam's voice, flat and unemotional and she realizes that she's as much part of the Games as he was. She had volunteered and she can't not look and she definitely can't let Sam fight all her battles for her. So she turns to see Sam holding the boy in a chokehold as he tightens his arms. His face red with exertion and the tendons on his arms bulging as he chokes the boy.

Quinn knows that the sound of the tribute's neck breaking will stay with her for a very long time. But she knows that this is still only the beginning as she crawls over to Sam, her hand reaching out to grab his and her voice surprisingly strong. "I need you to get most of the tributes to stand near the front of Rachel's plate."

Sam's trying his best to focus on something, anything besides the body of the boy at his feet. He knows that he had no choice, that the boy had just come at him, at Quinn and he was just trying to stay alive and keep his promise. He feels Quinn's hand on his arm and focuses on that touch and her voice, blocking everything else out.

But it' still not enough as he bends over and retches next to the body, only to feel Quinn's both arms go around his shoulders and her voice in his ear, "You saved my life and I am so sorry you had to do this but we need to go now. We need to save Rachel and we need to go."

Sam looks at the tributes surrounding Rachel. About ten of them there, and six other bodies scattered around not including the boy from District 6 at his feet and the rest probably already in the forest, trying to buy time for themselves. "What do you want me to do?" He sees relief on Quinn's face before her eyes widen when she hears a cry from Rachel.

Quinn sees Dave and Nick, the District 2 tribute pulling on Rachel even as Finn tries to run interference but she can see it's not working or at least she can hear it as Rachel cries out in pain again. "Can you get as many of them in front of Rachel as possible? I'm going to trigger her plate."

"What?" He's pretty sure that she's not crazy, at least not yet but she does look determined as she makes eye contact with him, her jaw grinding down when she hears another cry of pain from Rachel.

"They're hurting her. I'm going to get her off the plate and you need to ensure that the blast will get as many of them as possible." Quinn knows she does need Sam's help here even if every fiber of her being is focused on Rachel and trying to just get to her. "Just trust me, please. Try and get their attention and stay about fifteen feet away if you can."

"Okay. But I swear to god Quinn, if you get yourself killed, I'm...Stacie made me promise so just don't ok?" He waits to see her nod in assent before he jogs to where Rachel is. He can see a fight brewing even as the tributes surround Rachel, trying to pull off her supplies and weapons while Finn and Brittany try their best to protect her. She already has a cut on her face and bruises on her arms and Sam's almost sure sooner or later, one of them was going to just pull her off her plate and kill her along with any number of tributes.

From the corner of his eye, he can see Quinn run parallel to the forest before aligning herself to Rachel and he finally understands what she plans to do. He knows she's fast but he's not sure she's fast enough. Only, he does not want to second guess her as he stops about ten feet away from the fray and calls out. "Hey."

He sees some of the tributes turn to stare at him but not all of them and it just spurs him on to shout louder, "Hey, morons, maybe we just need a better plan to get her off without…you know killing her and ourselves." He sees anger on a few of their faces now and knows that at least he has their attention.

Sam wills himself not to stare at Quinn, hoping her plan actually worked because if it didn't both of them would wind up dead in a few minutes.

"So what's your plan?" Finn shouts at him even as Nick takes a step forward, his face contorted in anger.

"District 3?" Sam looks at the two tributes off to the side, "Either one of you know how to disarm the mine?" It was a long shot and Sam knows Quinn was already making her move and all he needed was maybe half a minute more. He sees a shift as all the tributes now turn slightly to the boy and girl from District 3.

Lucio knows he probably can and almost takes a step forward only to see a girl barreling towards them. He recognizes her from District 4 and the second he sees her launch herself forward towards Rachel, he understand exactly what has happened and grabs onto Claudia's arm pulling her down.

The blast is not huge but it does do it job as the bodies of all the tributes, dirt and stones are thrown in all directions.

#$#$#$#$#

The second Quinn hears Sam's voice call out, she starts to run forward, gauging the distance of Rachel and the speed she needs to attain to gain enough momentum to push Rachel off the plate and hopefully use the strength of the concussive blast to propel them away, hurt but hopefully not dead.

She sees deep brown eyes staring at her and it spurs her on faster. They don't need words really as she sees Rachel's hand on her heart again. And when Rachel's eyes slip shut, Quinn launches herself forward, her body of the ground as she grabs hold of Rachel's waist pushing her off the plate and to the side.

The blast occurs almost instantaneously and Quinn feels the heat of it on her back as her arms wrap around Rachel. The sound and force of it scrambling her senses and all she feels is pain but all she knows is she is holding Rachel and still airborne only to twist her body at the last second such that she takes the brunt of the fall as they land on the ground about ten feet away.

Sam is the first tribute on his feet as he frantically looks around, the acrid smell of smoke and the dust making his eyes water but he does not care when he spots Quinn and Rachel about twenty feet away. He hears groans and sees movements from the other tributes scattered around and knows they only have a small window of time to make their getaway.

He runs towards the two prone bodies and is unsurprised to see Quinn's arms still loosely held around Rachel. The only issue was Quinn looked unconscious but at least Rachel's eyes were blinking open. "Can you stand?" He says the words even if he himself can hear them clearly and he can see that Rachel doesn't either as she does not look at him.

So he reaches out and touches her cheek only to have her jerk back as she looks at him before looking back at Quinn, her arms reaching out to grab at Quinn's shoulders. He can see her frantic look as her hands roam Quinn's body, touching her face and back, her hands coming away a bit wet with blood.

"Quinn, please baby, please.." There's a ringing in her ears but she needs to call out to Quinn, to make every single connection she can, physical and verbal. She's on her side, Quinn's arms still around her and she rises slightly, still anxious because Quinn's arms fall away and she has to reach out to grab Quinn's hand. There's blood on hers partly from her but mostly from Quinn and she does not want to think the worse even if she knows that it's a distinct possibility.

Rachel sees Sam touch Quinn's neck and wants to swat his hand away only she understands he's checking to see if Quinn was still alive. It's only when he looks at her, his own features now showing relief that she feels her heart beat again as she scrambles to her knees, her arms holding Quinn, not knowing really what's going to happen next but realizing that from now onwards, keeping Quinn alive was her only goal.

She sees Sam trying to talk to her and tries to concentrate even if all she wants to focus on is the girl in her arms.

"We need to get out of here." He reaches out to take Quinn only to see Rachel pull back. Sam knows that they only have a few minutes maybe just a bit more before the other tributes regain consciousness and come after them. He already sees Nick starting to stir and he knows that he can't protect Quinn and Rachel and fight more than one tribute.

So he reaches out and pulls Quinn towards him, Rachel resisting but he's still stronger and manages to get Quinn and sling her over his shoulder. Only he does underestimates Rachel's resolve as she pulls out a nasty looking knife before she stands up and confronts him.

"I'm not going to hurt her or you. I…" He can see that she's still having trouble hearing him and all she's focused on really is Quinn even if she's waving the knife around like she's intending to use it. So Sam gently places Quinn's prone body on the ground before raising both his arms in front of him in a pacifying gesture. He enunciates each word slowly, exaggerating the sound and for once thankful for his large mouth.

"Rachel, I know you're worried about Quinn but please trust me because I am worried about her too and I guess by extension I have to look out for you as well." He sees her blinking at him but can tell that she does get the gist of what he's saying when she lowers the blade slightly. Only, the movement at the corner of his eye distracts him as he lunges forward, taking her by surprise, her loosely held weapon slashing him shallowly on his cheek but he does not stop as Nick rushes towards them.

It's only belatedly that Sam notices that the knife is connected to Rachel, thin wires inserted into her back allowing her and only her, the ability to wield it comfortably. But that does not stop Sam as he pulls Rachel in front of him, not as a shield but just to be able to grasp her hand and at least use the knife to protect them from Nick's blind rage.

Sam does not think of the consequences of his actions, of what this act could do to Rachel or what would happen if he failed. He just knows that they need to survive by any means necessary as he ignores Rachel's cry even as he pushes forward, the sharp blade catching Nick on his side and drawing blood.

He does not register Rachel's cry of pain as he extends his arm too far and pulls the wires taut, causing Rachel immense pain. His next move even more severe as he surges forward, almost pulling Rachel off her feet, this maneuver drawing blood from Rachel but at least wounding Nick across his neck, the gash bleeding profusely.

It's only when he feels Rachel sag against him, falling to her knees such that the weapon is pulled from his hand. But he cannot help her though as Nick pushes him to the ground, blood dripping everywhere but still he does not stop as he kicks out, catching Sam in his stomach. He kicks out two more times and Sam almost loses consciousness. But he sees Rachel's pained expression and Quinn still body off to the side and it reminds him that he has one job to do and he would do it or die trying.

So, he catches Nick's foot when the tribute kicks out again, this time pulling it into his stomach, ignoring the pain and causing Nick to fall backwards. He sees the Rachel's knife on the ground and reaches out for it. He sees Rachel steel herself against the pain as she rolls forward her hand holding the knife, reaching out, giving Sam the leeway he needs. Allowing him to firmly grab hold over her hand and cut into Nick, the blade entering his chest.

This time Sam is ready for the death, knowing that it's the only way and he does not throw up although he can finally hear Rachel's sobs as she tries her best to swallow them but it doesn't work and she finally lets it out, hoarse cries but still, Quinn's name on her lips.

There is so much blood, Nick's, Quinn's, Rachel's and definitely his, all mixed together on him, on the ground and the smell is almost overpowering but he finally gets his focus back as he crawls to Quinn, preparing to carry her. Before he can do so though, he sees Finn helping Brittany to her feet and knows he just does not have it in him to fight them.

For a split second, he wonders if it's just easier to kill Quinn and then himself. To make it as painless as possible for Quinn and maybe set her free the only way he knows how. But that thought vanishes quickly when he finally sees Quinn stir. Her hazel eyes blinking open and despite the pain and desperate nature of their circumstance, Sam smiles for the first time since the morning of Reaping day.

"Hey, are you ok?" his smile disappearing when he sees how pale Quinn is and blood still pulsing out of her back. "Quinn, hey, no…you're going to be fine." He knows he needs to stop the bleeding and he starts to take off his shirt only to have Rachel still his arm before fumbling with the zipper on her side.

"I have bandages, maybe some medicine…I think. Let me." Sam can see her hands are shaking so badly but the second she touches Quinn, it's as if she's grounded as she focuses on the blonde's injuries. Stemming the slow flow of blood from the wound on her back and using most of the ointment she has until he stops her.

"Not everything. Don't use everything; we may need it for someone else…we may need it later." He can see Rachel hesitate and he knows exactly what she's thinking and the sacrifices she'll make for Quinn. And the sudden sadness that shrouds his heart makes him lose his breath because he can see so much love and knows that it's the most futile of endeavors but he knows that it still won't stop Rachel at all.

He tenses when two shadows fall over them and Finn reaches out to Rachel. "Rach, are you ok? She could have killed you, that was.."

"That was brave." Brittany's voice cuts over his as she look at Quinn, "I mean you were. You were way fast, like my pet rock back home. He disappears and appears like magic. I mean sometimes I forget where he is but he's just superfast."

Quinn just feels like a giant bruise but having Rachel's hand touching her and hearing Brittany's ridiculous story actually let's her know that she's at least alive. And it does make a tiny difference, even if she knows that her life span can be measured in a matter of days and if she were lucky, a week or so. But she had saved Rachel's life. And all she needs to do is to take this one day at a time and just focus on ensuring Rachel survived each day.

"We need to get out of here." Quinn stifles her cry of pain as her hands grab onto Rachel's, that touch actually soothing her more than the ointment on her back. She sees Dave and the other tributes moving slowly and she knows that they need to disappear into the forest.

Her arms are around Rachel and Sam as Finn and Brittany lead the way towards the dense foliage. When she glances back, the sight she sees makes her shiver as Dave Karofsky makes eye contact with her. He's standing with Suzy Pepper on her knees in front of him. One large hand holding her head up while the other wields a small knife that cuts opens Suzy's neck from ear to ear.

But it's the smile he gives her that scares her beyond reason because it's a clear message that he'll enjoy doing the same to her but its only when his eyes flick to Rachel does she understand that more than their killing, he'll want to enjoy her suffering most.

Quinn does not know what she can do but at least she knows that no matter what, the only way Dave would ever get close to Rachel was over her dead body.

**End Part X**


	11. Cat & Mouse

 

**The 19** **th** **Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part XI - Cat & Mouse**

There is a hum of activity in the Games room. This buzz of computers and monitors and frantic conversation that builds as the timer counts down and everyone in the room waits for the Games to start. It's a bit different this year as Sue stands in the back, her arms crossed as she focuses on the large monitor in the center of the room. It shows the tributes all lining up but the difference really is the two lines of red and blue and the girl in the middle.

Rachel Berry was trouble just waiting to happen and Sue has this feeling that it would be better for all if she died today. Blown up by the mine underneath her plate or better yet, killed by the tribute from District 10. He would put on a good show, the deed carried out quickly but at least with as much blood as possible.

Her eyes wander to the demographics they're capturing on the other screens. Viewership numbers were a bit on the low side but nothing too worrying because they only got the spikes when there was more violence and death. After eighteen games, the quick deaths of the weaker tributes at the start was never going to be as interesting as a fight of between the desperate few who would do anything to be the last one standing.

Except she sees a steady increase in the charts as he eyes dart back to the large screen looking at the camera panning over the tributes. It does not fully register at first until she sees it just then, Rachel staring intently at the last tribute in line. That look, so damn full of emotion that Sue knows it cannot be mistaken for anything else.

And then she sees Rachel make the sign, jogging her own memories from years before, the 'L' across the heart. Her hands go to the back of the chair in front of her because her legs feel weak as she remembers Jean, smiling and waving as she boarded the train. Her memory so clear of her parents doing nothing as Jean was taken away from the Capitol because she didn't fit their ideal picture of a Capitol citizen.

And years later when she had started out as an escort for District 4, seeing Jean in the audience staring back at her making that sign. The only saving grace was knowing her sister was too old for the Reaping but it still never washed that guilt she carried for never acknowledging their bond. For gazing pass the woman expressing her love for her little sister.

To see it now, raw and radiant and so damn fucking painful to watch but she can't look away and apparently neither can the others as the ratings steadily climb. Trending on every conceivable messaging service open to the citizens. She knows that the Districts are all forced to watch the Games and those numbers rarely change and she sees them move up as well.

Will catches her eye as he stares at her, his expression a cross between surprise and smugness because he had called this. Only she's been around longer and survived more and she knows that they're all playing with fire.

However, Sue cannot for the life of her forget that sign or the emotions she feels churning within her; the impetus to actually do something now that she just could not do years ago. It was like a reprieve, a second chance to make good even if it was too late for Jean.

"Don't show who she's looking at, not yet. Just keep the cameras on her and on the male tributes from 2, 10 and 1." Will nods his head, not sure of what Sue's angle is but he can see that gleam in her eye and it scares him a bit because he knows how dark she can get.

They can't get sound because of the open field but the soft music, slowly building up into something just slightly ominous is enough accompaniment to the show of Rachel's emotional face intercut with that of Finn, Dave and Nick. The latter two giving off so much hate and anger that would indicate more of a bloodbath for the start than the Games before.

"And we are counting down…" Will's clear voice silences all the quiet chatter as everyone in the room including Shelby's who apparently snuck into the back, her eyes glued to the monitor and to Rachel's face. She just needs to see Rachel survive the first day and maybe her plan could actually work.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four three, two, one…Cue the siren." And just like that, twenty three tributes run off their plates, only Quinn and Rachel remain rooted to the spot. That one look shared between them, a half a minute at most but so telling that Will cuts away after ten seconds, following Tribute 5 as she's cut down by the boy from 6.

The fights less bloody because the big weapons are tethered to Rachel but still done with so much gusto that Will knows this will be one of those Games where the violence would not stop. There are enough fights going on such that he does not need to focus on Rachel or Quinn even though he can see from the side monitors that something is brewing.

"Get camera 1 to follow Sam Evans and put camera 2 on hold. Pan around to the fights but when I give the word, go to a wide focus on Rachel." Sue shakes her head as she sees the big picture. Not really sure if she's guessing correctly but actually a bit more than impressed by Quinn.

Sue continues to shake her head even when Will moves to stand next to her. "What do you think will happen?" He sees the serious conversation going on and the look of determination on Quinn's face but he still cannot piece anything together

"She's either going to die or save her in about a minute so just wait for my cue." Sue really can't take her eyes off Quinn, even with the fight that Sam is putting up, all she sees is this single minded focus that she herself use to have and it makes her feel something that she hasn't felt in so long.

That protective instinct that she had to bury deep down the day Jean had left comes flaring back up like a bad case of herpes and she hates the feeling even if she does miss it. Her eyes glued to the screen as she sees Quinn finally make her move, clean strides as she gains speed, rushing towards her possible death without a second thought, so brave yet so very, very stupid. "Now."

The camera shows the explosion, the bodies flung in different directions. Some lucky like the other girl from District 1 who is standing behind one of the tributes from 12 who's definitely not lucky as her body takes the brunt of the explosion, killing her almost instantly.

The dust takes time to settle but in that short span of time, the ratings just go through the roof such that the sound in the room builds as messaging devices go off and the people in the room begin to realize that these Games are different.

Will's a fast learner though as he shouts out instructions, giving the audience a taste of the bond between Rachel and Quinn but just pulling away or not showing enough each time. He stays on Sam and Rachel though when they fight Nick. The way Rachel's face contorts in pain but still she does not give up until Nick is dead.

He finally sees the kernel of the story for these Games as the banding together of this particular group is almost too easy but he can already see where the cracks could form and they would definitely center round the two girls holding each other. Sam's on one side but the way Quinn angles her body towards Rachel is unmistakable.

And this story in particular needs a villain beyond the Capitol and Peacekeepers. It's all part of his job to show that the Districts are their own worst enemy and this time is no different because there's always that one tribute, not driven by the need to prove themselves or to gain reprieve for their family but just to be as cruel as possible because this was the only arena to do so.

He sees that the second camera 3 tracks Dave Karofsky as he runs to scoop up a knife, ignoring Rachel and the other fleeing tributes but zeroing in on the other tribute from 10. Suzy Pepper never really had a chance as soon as Dave set his sights on her. Not hesitating one bit as he reaches out for her, pushing her down to the ground, his leg kicking out repeatedly.

But it does not end there and Will actually feels the bile rise in his throat as he clears it in order to tell them to switch the view to someone else. Except Sue sidles up to him, "If you want to show their bond, if you think it's worth something, then you're going to need to see this through."

So Will does not say anything as the cameras, all of them now just focus on Dave. His beefy hands pulling on Suzy's hair, the knife almost lost between his thick fingers as he stares at the forest, not even looking down as he stares hard towards the distance, the smile on his face slow to form and only widening in tandem as he brings the knife across Suzy's pale neck. Red blood spurting over his hands but he does not let go, his eyes narrowing and shifting focus a bit as if he's giving a silent message.

The act is chilling in itself. But the way he finally tosses Suzy's body aside, wiping the blood off his hands by running them over her clothes and rolling his neck, as if finally letting himself be comfortable, that part actually sends a shiver up Will's spine.

"Keep one camera on him and try and pick up a few other tributes but let camera 1 and 4 stay on the main group. And let's see if we can give the audience some sound."

This Games already proving to be different from any of the others and Will truly wonders if any of them will be the same when it ends.

#$#$#$#$

Quinn knows there are cameras around and she needs to control her emotions. It's not that she doesn't want anyone to know of her feelings for Rachel but the fact that she knows there will come a time where they will be used against her or worse yet, against Rachel.

So instead of giving in to the comfort and continuing to hold Rachel's hand as they trudge deeper into the woods, she reluctantly let's go although they walk side by side, their steps in sync so naturally. Sam hovering next to her, not touching her but just a step away, ever ready to lend a hand.

Rachel feels the weight of the world on her weary shoulders and it's not only a figurative view but the fact that she is carrying the means of their survival on her. The food and weapons meant that they had a better chance of staying alive. The weight of them so very heavy on her drooping shoulders but Quinn's presence seemingly lightening her load.

"We need water and maybe something to eat." Finn's voice is hopeful as he looks to her, trying to avoid looking at her linked hands with Quinn. And he hates her fallen expression even more, when Quinn finally pulls her hand away.

He's been her friend for so long that she knows he can read most of her emotions. And the second they had run into the forest, her arm around Quinn, Finn had looked at her, his brow furrowed. The question on the tip of his tongue but she could see that he just could not bring himself to ask the question or acknowledge that she was acting in a way that was totally unfamiliar to him.

And Rachel felt a slight pang of relief when he held his tongue, instead giving out instructions, asking Brittany to take point while he would follow up in the rear as both Rachel and Sam helped Quinn who was still woozy from the blast but at least she had stopped bleeding.

The plan was to get as much of the lay of the land as possible and then decide if they could stay here or go across to the desert setting. It would be harsher but at the same time if they were prepared, it would mean no one could attack them because of the openness and the fact that they had numbers on their side.

And after eight hours of avoiding traps, other tributes, wild animals and fighting hunger and thirst, Finn knows they need to rest and make a decision. Maybe lighten Rachel's load a bit by having some water and food.

Only he sees her shake her head. "I can't open anything else until midnight." She had made a decision to use the medicine for Quinn and knows that because of it, they'll have to go without food or water. She sees Quinn look at her guiltily and she wants to offer comfort but she really is not sure where they stand ever since Quinn let go of her hand.

Rachel knows exactly what her heart wants but there was really no way for them to survive this together and therefore the only avenue she sees for herself is to ensure Quinn survived. And she reminds herself in order to do that, she needed Quinn to hate her enough such that she looked out for herself and didn't pull any more stupid stunts like risking her life to get her off her plate.

So instead of smiling at Quinn or telling her that she would gladly starve or die of thirst if she could for the short amount of time offer Quinn comfort for her pain; Rachel turns away and gestures to Finn to follow her, turning her back on the slightly confused expression on Quinn's face

They walk a bit away from the others and Rachel knows Quinn's eyes are on her and Sam is even more overt as he stands, staring at them, his body tense. But Rachel ignores all of it as she grabs hold of Finn's hand, pulling him away from the others and towards her. "I need you to promise me something." her voice is soft but serious and Finn bends his head lower to catch all her words.

She does not want anyone to hear. Not the rest of the group and definitely not the Gamemakers. So she puts her hands around Finn's neck and pulls him down. It's an intimate gesture that can easily be misconstrued but its her only avenue as she whispers the words in his ear.

"If it comes down to Quinn or me, you have to save her." Her words startling him such that he tries to take a step back before reaching out to grab her hand, his own voice hoarse and disbelieving.

"What? No. I...can't. Your father.. He made me promise. He said they'll be taken care of, my family. Even if I don't win, as long as I protected you, they'll be looked after."

Her life seemingly more precious that the others and it's something that she knows in her heart is just not true.  _'He can't help them'_  she thinks the words but does not say them out loud. Because she needs to lie and she does it with more ease than before, Rachel knows that she's crossed a line.

"And  **he will**. But only if you help Quinn." She sees him hesitate and it just spurs her on, her hand now touching his cheek. "I know you want to win this." Finn actually shakes his head at her words.

"I can't kill you or Brittany. And I won't let you die." His voice so low but filled with determination. He knows he'll kill to protect them but he won't be able to bring himself to kill them and because of it, he can't win. And that was why he made the deal with Hiram when the mayor came to see him before they left.

"I know but if I asked you, if you could save her or me and I asked you to save her, would you? Please?" her voice highlights her desperation and she prays he cares enough for her to want to help.

Only Rachel was asking him to ignore his own family's wellbeing as well as her own and it was just not going to happen. Finn knows how tenacious she can be though and he thinks that in the end, she'll forgive him for not following through on this false promise he was going to make.

Having his family looked after and Rachel alive and back home was worth his own life. "Ok...ok." the relief he sees on her face is only overshadowed when she finally lets him go and turns back to see Quinn staring at her, her hazel eyes brimming with tears.

It's obvious from all of it, the way Quinn risked her life to the way Rachel just now cavalierly sacrificed her own for his promise, that the both of them had somehow formed a bond.

He sees Quinn's eyes focus on Rachel's hand, still touching him and he ignores the urge to step back. And it's Rachel who finally reacts as she turns back to him, her hands now by her side but her words clear. "Thank you."

"We're going to need to find water and maybe some food." His voice rises to get everyone's attention. And Finn sees Sam nod in his direction but it's Quinn who unsteadily stands up. Finn's about to shake his head only her words stop him.

"I..I can tell which plants are edible, maybe even find some water." It's more than he can do but still his eyes flick to Sam who shrugs and shakes his head as does Brittany. Finally he looks at Rachel and he can see the indecision in her eyes. Like she wants to tell Quinn no but her words also dies in her throat when Quinn leans towards Sam, her lips on his cheek, her words as she slowly pulls away soft but still decipherable. "Look out for Rachel." Sam does not nod but Quinn knows he understands her message as she slowly follows Finn deeper into the dense foliage.

#$#$#$#$#

Dave is so used to herding stupid animals to slaughter and the two tributes from District 3 were making it too easy for him but he does not make his move because he has another target in mind. So he changes course again, leaving them behinddoor him to kill another day.

Nearly running into the District 11 tributes has put him into a foul mood that he knows can only be cured by actual food and a weapon or two. Not the glorified penknife he had managed to snag but that axe he saw attached to Rachel. He actually does not think of her by name because she was going to be a pack animal for him.

Quinn on the other hand probably did deserve her name at least for now. That stunt she pulled had given him pause. However she had looked hurt physically and he knows the message he had sent her would at least affect her emotionally if he had read the signs right.

Those two were close and therefore he knew just what to do in order to get his hands on the supplies that were meant to be his.

He finally knows he's on the right track when he sees that tall boy from District 1 and better yet, he hears Quinn's voice.

"This…we can eat its roots. I don't think there's any water around but they should at least yield some liquid." When she finally comes into view, he can see blood streaks on her back and the way she moves highlights that she's in some discomfort. Still she grunts with effort as they both dig up the roots. "Finn, we should head back soon."

Dave just smiles at her words and waits, only following after a few minutes. It's another hour's track and the he knows it's probably close to midnight when they finally reunite with his target. The way she looks at Quinn even in the dim light, makes his stomach turn but it doesn't matter because he knows he has once chance.

Despite his size, Dave is fast as he finally darts out, pushing Finn aside and grabbing Quinn's wrist. He has her flushed against him, one hand with his knife to her throat and his other forearm pushing her chin up.

"All I want is her." He indicates to Rachel. And he's surprised that instead of looking at Quinn, she looks at Finn as if waiting for him to do something. Only he does not move instead he turns to answer Dave.

"Hell no. No way."

And it gives him the impetus to finally press the knife down, drawing a thin line of blood.

**End Part XI**


	12. You & I

 

**The 19th Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow**

**Part XII – You & I**

Sam is looking at Quinn as the thin line of blood appears, stark against her pale skin. Her eyes widen a bit but there's no show of fear on her face even as she finally meets his gaze.

And it's then that he gets her message as her eyes connect with his before darting to where Rachel is standing. Even with her own life on the line, she wants him to protect Rachel. But before he can do anything, Rachel rushes forward, the word 'no' falling from her lips as her hands reach out. Only to have Finn grab her around her waist, easily lifting her off the ground and resuming the stand-off.

Dave expected more of a fight from Quinn when he cut her but apart from the sharp intake of breath when he first pressed down, there was no other reaction. He has to fight the urge to hurt her further only be cause he still does not have what he truly wants and by the look of it, Finn wasn't going to make it easy.

It does makes him smile though because unlike all of them, he has no qualms in killing anyone and he can see that Rachel gets it as she struggles against Finn's grip. She looks determined to get free, kicking out wildly and Dave is so looking forward to her trying to put up a fight with him.

Despite her small stature, Finn was actually having trouble hanging on to Rachel. She was determined to get out of his grip and possibly go to her death all because of Quinn. He understands a bit about loving someone so much that you'd be willing to lay down your life. His dad had done so and he wasn't far behind in following his footsteps. He loved his mom and brother and would do anything to ensure they were looked after.

So with his promise to Hiram, Finn knows that he will do everything to keep Rachel alive, not only sacrificing his own life but killing anyone who stood in his way. Even if it meant letting Dave take Quinn. Finn just tightens his hold on Rachel shifting his hands upwards as one crosses her upper chest and the other holds firmly onto her arms. He really does not want to hurt her but he knows that he may have to if she does not stop struggling. He sees Sam inching forward and hopes he has a plan to save Quinn.

All Rachel can focus on is to get to Quinn. Her eyes trail a drop of blood that wells from the cut that Dave has inflicted and it makes her want to do something, anything to stop him. Only Finn has her in such a tight grip that even her legs are off the ground. It's only when he shifts that she sees her chance and bends forward, her teeth finding purchase in the fleshy part of his palm, just below his thumb.

She bites down hard and Finn stumbles back, taking her down with him but at least he finally let's her go. Rachel scrambles to her feet and when she sees Dave smile in that sickening manner, she finally knows what she has to do as she reaches behind her to take out the serrated edged sword.

Quinn's trying to control her breathing and not move because her neck hurts and she has a feeling that Dave doesn't care and has no qualms in hurting her more especially if she said anything or tried to struggle. But it was difficult to not do anything when she saw Rachel struggling to get to her. She just hoped that Sam could think of something because if he didn't then she would start to fight with Dave and hope for the best.

But Rachel gets away first, her mouth covered with Finn's blood but it's what she does next that scares Quinn more than anything else. And it's the first time she shows her fear since Dave grabbed her. Her neck convulsing and the blade to her throat draws more blood.

"Let her go or I'm going to cut" She holds the nasty looking blade to her neck, her voice not wavering even if she feels the coldness of the steel against her throat. Dave just continues to smile, not really believing Rachel.

Finn is on his feet and steps towards her, only this time Rachel is ready as she takes a step back ands slowly pulls the blade across her throat. She can't really help the whimper from escaping her lips even as she feels her skin split open. The cut is shallow but it does bleed and she stops to stare at Dave. "Let her go and I'll come with you"

She sees that he's about to agree only Quinn finally starts to struggle, Dave's knife nicking her throat but she still manages to shout at Rachel. "No" her voice desperate but Rachel does not listen as she keeps the blade to her throat, blood already coating the metal, her eyes wide and unblinking.

#$#$#$#$#

"What time is it?" Will's voice actually sounds as desperate as Quinn's as he looks at the timer. Hoping that it'll strike twelve and he can trigger one of Sue's surprises.

"Just a few minutes more" Sue's actually surprised at the amount of action on the first day. She remembers the third Games, watching it with her father and hearing him cheer on at the screen, marvelling at how many tributes died on the very first day. It was the only Games where sixteen tributes died before the day ended.

She looks at the tribute board and sees thirteen names listed as deceased. And she wonders if she should let more die tonight. Both Quinn and Rachel did seem hell bent on putting their lives on the line especially for each other that sooner or later one of them would die so maybe the more humane thing to do was to just let it happen now.

Except her eyes drift to the viewer numbers and like before, they're rising steadily. Not even the end of the first day and they're hitting numbers normally seen at the middle of the games where a few clear favourites were obvious.

The look of determination on Rachel's face coupled with Quinn's look of fear was ratings gold and Sue knows that she should at least prolong it if not for the viewers than for the fact that she grudgingly admires Quinn and right now Rachel as well.

"You can go with the water or the fire." She may admire them but it doesn't mean that she'll forgo her duty as Head Gamemaker as she gives Will the difficult choice. She really does feel like breaking the death record tonight and either choice would actually give her a chance to do so and at the same time stop the standoff between Rachel and Dave.

It would put all the remaining tributes in danger but that was the concept of the Games and despite what she felt, it was her job to make these Games a success so instead of waiting for Will who still looked a bit sick, she presses the button to initiate the first peril for these games.

#$#$#$#$#$#

Dave tightens his hold around her neck, cutting off her air supply but Quinn does not give up as she struggles even more, ignoring the pain because all she wants to do is to get to Rachel. She wasn't going to allow Rachel to sacrifice herself as she elbows Dave but it does not do much as she feels her vision begin to blur.

She hears a rushing in her ears and wonders if this is what it feels like to die, her lungs devoid of air now and black dots appearing behind her eyes. Quinn finally sags against Dave and just as she hears Rachel calling her name but she also hears Sam shouting "Water."

And that's when she hears the roar grow louder before she sees the wall of water rolling towards them. Quinn's always been comfortable with water, growing up by the ocean and learning to swim. The rolling waves and the sound of them crashing to shore always relaxed her. However, this roar of water is scary loud and she knows that unlike the ocean, this water is meant to kill.

It surprises Dave as much as any of them and she feels his hold slacken and she finally manages to wrench herself forward. Her legs stumbling but she manages to get to where she needs to as she reaches Rachel, her hand grabbing onto Rachel's, "Let it go, we need to" she doesn't get to finish as she feels the water crash over them and all she can feel is Rachel's hand in hers.

As soon as he had seen Quinn get free, Sam immediately turned to dive into the wall of water, knowing he needed to get his bearings in the water as quickly as possible before he could help anyone. He just hoped that Quinn was still lucid enough to help Rachel.

He was pretty sure that not all of them could swim and he's proven right when he sees Brittany flailing underwater, her eyes wide and panicked as she tries to find air. And when she opens her mouth and water enters, Sam can see he does not have much time as he kicks hard trying to get to her while avoiding the rocks and trees that he's been propelled towards.

The water turns murky quickly due to the sand and soil around but he has a pretty good idea of where Brittany was and reaches out and actually manages to grab hold of her hair. He pulls her forward and the fact that she does not struggle worries him but he does not think as he gets his own bearing and looks at the bubbles to see which was was up.

Rachel feels the water pull at her but she also feels Quinn's hand in hers and it's the one thing that allows her not to panic even though she feels her lungs straining and she feels claustrophobic, the water swirling around her and the fact that all the weapons and supplies was pulling her down.

Quinn relaxes her body, allowing the water to push her forward as she tries to swim around the tree trunks in her way. Her grip on Rachel is not as tight as she would like but at least she feels Rachel gripping back. She fights the urge to turn and look at her because she wants to get Rachel to safety before she checks on her injuries, the red cut across her neck still prominent in her mind.

Only she feels a tug and almost loses her grip and when she turns back, she sees Rachel sinking, pulling her down. And when she meets brown eyes, there's this understanding in them as Rachel loosens her fingers but Quinn refuses to let go. She shakes her head adamantly and kicks out with even more force to keep them both moving upwards.

Quinn refusing to pray or to ask God for help because she's afraid that it meant she was giving up and knew she couldn't save Rachel. So she does not think of her burning lungs or the deep ache she feels as rocks and branches hit out at her. All she focuses on is swimming up.

But the supplies attached to Rachel are heavy and even if she can see Rachel trying to kick as well, it's a losing battle as they both start to sink. Then as if by some miracle, she sees Sam swimming towards her, one arm around Brittany and the other cutting strong strokes through the water and towards them.

She feels him pull on her hand and finally can see the surface of the water, the bright moonlight acting like a beacon. The seconds it takes to break the surface feels like hours and the way she sucks air into her lungs almost makes her choke. But as soon as she does that, she focuses on Rachel. Her arm now across Rachel's chest, and the brunette's head lolling against her throat. "Rachel, love, answer me ok? let me hear that beautiful voice. Please..."

The heavy silence of the night now broken when she hears the distance boom signifying that the first day was finally over. She does not pay much attention to the subsequent shots fired signifying the number of tributes that had died because the only one she was worried about was currently in her arms. "Rachel, please." her lips find Rachel's cheek and all she feels is cold skin. "Sam." Her voice is laced with fear.

"I'm here." She looks towards the sound of his voice and sees him treading water a few feet away. "I don't know if Rachel's alive, we need.. To get.." She feels a sob build up within her and tries to swallow it, " we need to get to higher ground." The sob escaping at last even as she feels Sam's hand on Rachel's neck.

"I feel a pulse." He does not tell her that it feels weak, " There seems to be higher ground up ahead. Can you swim there?"

Quinn's not really sure she can even continue to tread water but Rachel was alive and she had made a promise so she nods.

"Hey, Sam?" Finn's voice cuts across the water, "Hey, are you guys ok? Do you know where the others are?"

"Quinn has Rachel and I have Brittany. Can you swim towards my voice?" Unlike Quinn, Sam had been listening to the death toll shots and he had counted fifteen. So if Finn had survived, there was a good chance that Dave had too.

"No, man, I can't." Finn's answer back is surprising.

"Are you hurt?" Sam lowers his voice, not wanting anyone else to know that they made it and knowing that they all needed time to recover before they were hit by something or someone else.

"No." Finn's voice also drops but this time because he's actually embarrassed. "I can't swim. I'm kind of stuck in this tree." Quinn can actually see Sam roll his eyes and she can't help her smile either. She also sees Sam look indecisive as if considering leaving Finn behind.

Only she remembers that Finn had tried to stop Rachel, he had tried to keep her from giving herself over to Dave and anyone who put Rachel's life above hers was someone she needed. She knows Sam won't pick Rachel over her but Finn definitely would. "You need to go and get him."

"Can you...are you sure you can make it to that ledge?" He points to a small ledge about twenty feet away. " If I go back for him, I don't think I can make it back here with both of them." Quinn sees that he's still holding on to Brittany.

"Best case is I spot something that we can swim to that's closer"

"And worse case?" Quinn feels pressure on her chest like she's about to lose Sam as well and there was nothing she could do.

"Hey, don't worry ok? Worse case is we spend the night on the tree with Finn and when we're all rested and it's daylight again, I'll swim over to you."

"Promise." Quinn knows that the odds of both of them dying were high but she just does not want to lose him tonight.

"I promise. You sure you can make it there with your girl?" It's not much that he can really do for them but he knows that at least they would be able to spend tonight together.

Quinn reaches out to touch his cheek before slowing swimming towards the ledge. Rachel's body feels like dead weight but she knows that Sam had felt her pulse and she just needs to find the strength to get them to the ledge and she would be able to tend to Rachel.

It takes her last remaining strength to push Rachel's body onto the outcrop, the first two times Rachel just rolled back down almost sending her underwater. And when she finally does it, she realises that she can't pull herself up, her arms not responding and her teeth chattering together because of the cold air and freezing water.

Rachel comes to, relatively slowly, each of her senses taking time to connect to each other. The feeling of coldness enveloping her entire being and the sound of harsh breaths followed by a soft sob. Then she blinks and sees the top of Quinn's head as she sinks downwards, her fingers gripping the side of the ledge, letting go.

And Rachel reacts faster than she thought she could, ignoring the absolute pain she feels throughout her body, each of her nerve endings screaming for her to stop but she does not as her hand reaches out to grab at Quinn's fingers.

her voice,barely a whisper but she gets the words out, "Quinn, don't you dare leave me." And like some miracle, Quinn actually listens as she resurfaces.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. Now give me your hand." Rachel pulls as much as she can and Quinn does not give up as she tries to find a foothold.

"I've got you."

"I know." Her legs are still partly in the water and it's only when she sees Rachel's brown eyes open and looking at her does she get that they both made it. Her arms going around the brunette pulling her close.

Rachel can't believe they're both alive but she wasn't going to let this chance go either, knowing how close she had come to losing Quinn. "Don't ever do that."

Quinn can feel Rachel shivering and her own teeth was chattering so loudly that she almost misses Rachel's words. "Do what?"

"Try and kill yourself. You have to stay alive." Rachel can see a cut on Quinn's temple and she knows she has access to more medication so she reluctantly let's go of Quinn and tries to remember which compartment to open only Quinn stops her.

"Do you have a sheet or a cover?"

" Yeah, but you need medication."

"No, we need to get warm. Rachel, I'm ok and I wasn't trying to kill myself. I was...I was trying to save you." She reaches out to touch Rachel's hand, hoping that the girl wasn't going to pull away like before or worse yet, tell her that there was nothing between them.

"Yeah, well don't" Rachel tone a bit belligerent, as she bites the words out and Quinn actually finally gets it because Rachel won't meet her gaze and she remembers what Rachel had done when Dave had her in his grasp.

"Alright...but only if you don't either." Despite Rachel's hurtful words, everything she had done when Quinn had been in danger was in direct contradiction of what she had said and all her actions with Finn.

Rachel still can't bring herself to look at Quinn and its only when she feels Quinn's finger slowly lifting her chin does her gaze lock on to hazel eyes. but it's the kiss that warms her more than anything.

Soft lips on hers, Quinn's fingers in her hair and that pull she feels to connect with this girl, to open herself up and just be. All the hurt and coldness melts away, leaving a yearning so strong that her fingers shake as she opens the zipper to the compartment with the reflective sheet.

Quinn is already a step ahead as she removes her shirt and pulls at Rachel's pants. Her own clothes so easy to discard but not Rachel's. it's then that she realises how cruel the Games have been to Rachel. Her clothes almost fused to her body, all the compartments and weapons linked to her in some way such that her pants only go down to her knees and no further and Quinn's fingers are cut on the thin wires attached to Rachel's back.

"What have they done.." Quinn can't help her tears now. "Rachel.."

"Don't..just kiss me..please." And it's not a plea Quinn can ignore nor does she think of anything else as she pulls Rachel down on top of her, draping the sheet over them and giving in to what the both of them need.

#$#$#$#$

"Keep the cameras on the boys." Will rubs the back of his neck before turning to look at Shelby who had come in about ten minutes ago. She had seen Quinn save Rachel and her daughter return the favour. And he had been so tempted to keep the cameras on them. Their love for each other so clear even if he had cut away the second Quinn had been pulled onto the ledge.

"Then find the other tributes and show where they are before ending transmission and running the scenes of each tribute's death." He sees Shelby nod to him and knows she wants to talk.

Just to be safe, he does not approach her until he sees the other Gamemakers busy with his instructions and note that Sue had already gone to her chambers.

"What do you want?" His tone is not rude but just tired.

"Does she have a chance?"

Will truly wants to say yes, to tell Shelby that Rachel can win this but he knows Dave is still alive and so were tributes from 11, 3 and 9. Anyone of them could kill her and so could the boy from 4. "She survived today."

"The water,you...thank you." Shelby knows that it could have killed Rachel but it also gave her a chance to get away from Dave. All she needed was to ensure Rachel survived the next few days and then she hoped that her plan would work.

"Don't thank me. everything here and there.." Will points to the screen, "All of it is designed to kill."He wishes it were different but there was no way that they could make it so. they were a part of the system and the system meant that the Games had to be played until only one winner stood up. And because Rachel loved Quinn and Quinn loved her, they just wouldn't survive each others deaths. "I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do."

Shelby does not say anything as she watches Will leave the room. She wants to shout and tell him that he's wrong because anyone who had seen Rachel's determined face could see that she could live if she wanted to and after today, Shelby understands that in order for that to happen, she needed to also find a way to keep Quinn alive as well.

**End Part XII**


	13. Give & Take

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**Give & Take**

**Chapter XIII**

Rachel wakes up to the sound of Quinn's heartbeat. She's lying on top of Quinn, the blonde's arms around her and her head pillowed on Quinn's chest. The sound constant and true and Rachel feels like its something she wants to wake up to every day of her life no matter what. And it's probably a promise that can come true considering her lifespan could be measured in days and not years.

More than that, she wanted Quinn's heart to continue beating even when hers stopped but it was going to be a difficult thing to achieve considering Quinn was adamant about protecting her.

"Are you feeling ok?" Quinn's soft voice cutting across her thoughts and making her feel warm and safe. She looks over at the girl and really hates to see the bruises on her face and neck, wishing that she could make them disappear.

"I should be asking you that." Only the smile Quinn bestows on her is beautiful and conveys so much that Rachel doesn't care about anything except to be able to be the recipient of that smile. It made her feel like singing.

"I'm great as long as I'm with you." Quinn reaches for her hand brings it to her lips before leaning in to kiss her. And it finally spurs Rachel to try a different tact. Like her father and LeRoy, she knows she shares a bond with Quinn. A love so special that it made her feel special, blessed.

And because of it, she knows she just needs to extract one promise from Quinn. "Would you stop risking your life if I told you I don't love you."She sees Quinn bite her bottom lip, her hands curled into fists but she remains silent, waiting for Rachel to continue.

"Would you stop?"

Quinn shakes her head. It was just not going to happen regardless of what Rachel said. Rachel expects that answer but knows Quinn does not expect her next words.

"And if I told you that I loved you and more than anything, I want you to win." She sees Quinn's eyes widen, as the implication of Rachel's words settle over her. "Would you stop because I love you?"

Rachel actually thinks that maybe this was going to work and Quinn was finally going to acquiesce. She knows that Quinn could win this if she let herself and right now, she just needs Quinn to want that too. Then Quinn smiles at her again, that smile that makes her heart stutter and a flush spreads across her chest because Rachel knows that it's just for her, signifying love and so much more.

But the accompanying words are not what she wants to hear, "I'll stop when you win." Rachel's forehead bends down to touch Quinn's as she breathes out, wishing that she could change Quinn's mind. "I don't want to win if you...I can't lose you."

"So we'll just have to defy the odds." Quinn's always been pragmatic, never believing in fate or luck but meeting Rachel had to mean something more. Her faith was never based on miracles but pure belief and right now, she truly believed that with Rachel by her side, they could really beat the Games. "We'll win this together."

There is such fervor in Quinn's voice that despite her good judgment, Rachel actually believes as well. She still does not think that they can win against the Capitol but she believes enough in Quinn to know that they could make it to the final two and then it would be her choice to let Quinn win.

Quinn seals her words with another kiss before she sits up. The pain ripping through her back taking her by surprise that she rolls on to her side, Rachel tumbling off her and almost into the water. She curls into herself as she bites down on her hand, stifling the scream.

"Quinn? Oh, God!" Rachel scrambles towards her and sees the wound on her back. The reddened burn was white in parts with dead skin and when Quinn had sat up, she had split it open. The bandages red again with blood. Rachel takes the rest of the bandages and the ointment and spends the next ten minutes tending to Quinn, not realizing that Quinn had only stopped whimpering when she had started to sing under her breath.

"Rachel." Sam's voice stopping her song but not her ministrations, as she gently tends to Quinn's wound. The heat radiating off her skin indicating that infection has set in.

"She's going to be fine." Rachel can't help the tremor in her voice but she does mean every word. She knows she has more medication that would help with the fever and in a few hours, she'd have access to them. She sees Brittany's clinging to Sam's neck and as soon as she climbs onto the ledge, the blonde smiles shyly at Rachel, her eyes darting to her chest as Rachel realizes like Quinn, she's half dressed.

Sam turns red and quickly swims away, telling her that he's going back for Finn while Brittany helps Quinn with her clothes. They're on their feet, Quinn pale but standing when Finn and Sam arrive.

Rachel can't bring herself to look at Finn and when he reaches out to her, she steps back and turns to Quinn. Only it's Quinn who acknowledges him, " Thank you." She takes Rachel's hand in hers as she says the words, knowing that Rachel won't like them but it was the way she had been brought up.

Finn nods before pointing out the steep path they had to take to get out of the flooded ravine. It was going to be tough and he was pretty sure Quinn wasn't going to make it considering how pale and short of breath she was. However, it seemed like they truly had an alliance when Sam and Brittany go to her either side and help her while Rachel walks to the front to lead the way up.

#$#$#$#$#$

Lucio knows he should have been paying attention. It was really the first unwritten rule of the Games and now he was paying the price. Or rather Claudia was. He sees her struggle in Dave's arms and puts his own hands up in a placating gesture. "Just take the food and water."

He sees Dave look at their meager rations and sneers as he tightens his hold around Claudia's neck, her face turning puce as she struggles for breath. He can't help his shudder when he hears the crack as her neck breaks and her body slides to the ground.

He knows he should run but Dave just looks at him and Lucio understands that he does not have a chance. He thinks of his father's words before he left.  _'Fight to live. Die with dignity'_  His hand goes to his back, his fingers curling around the sharp arrowhead. While he knows he may not be able to fulfill the former, he was definitely going to try for the latter because it was really all he had.

So he stands there, waiting for Dave to make his move except the large boy just stands in front of him and laughs, "You're just going to stand there and wait for me to kill you, aren't you? You're pathetic, weak."

Lucio rushes forward, his arm swinging down, actually catching Dave by surprise and drawing first blood. He pushes the bigger boy to the ground, trying not to look at Claudia's body as they struggle next to it.

Lucio actually thinks he has a shot of winning this until he hears Dave laugh again and the fight suddenly turns when he finds himself on his back, a knife at his throat and Dave grinning down at him.

It's chilling because Lucio knows Dave really wants to kill him and actually would enjoy it. His eyes were devoid of life or sanity, just crazed with bloodlust.

"Just do it." Lucio grits out, praying that his father will be proud that he at least tried.

"Oh, no. I'm going to need you to get that bitch."

Lucio doesn't know who Dave is referring to but he already feels dread for her when he glances back at Claudia's body.

#$#$#$#$

Shelby's been saving up favors since she got to Capitol. In the beginning, it was to ensure that she would never be sent back to the Districts. Then it evolved to helping Hiram. Trading in secrets to ensure a small but constant supply of food and other necessities to her brother in District 1.

Always keeping steps ahead such that she had more than an ample supply of secrets she could trade with. She was walking a fine line though, from working in the shadows to stepping out and being overt in her allegiances. But Rachel's life was on the line and she couldn't hide any longer.

"What do you want Shelby, I don't have all day. The Games have started and they're waiting for my commentary." Kurt preens in the mirror, knowing he looks good and hoping his date tonight agrees as well.

"I need you to suggest something today, during the Games. I want you to tell the viewers that they should feel like that want to be part of it, to maybe want to contribute something to the tributes. Start a campaign of sorts to get people to actively participate. " Shelby wonders how he manages to sleep at night and when she spies the small bottle of pills on his dresser table, she knows she has her answer as well as just a bit more blackmail fodder.

"You're kidding, right? That's never happened and it's certainly not going to start now." To be honest, it does sound like an intriguing idea and he has been looking to spice up his program. There were only so many words to describe death and violence and he's pretty sure he's used every single one of them including euphemisms and similes. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

She loves the people she works with, all of them hand picked because they had talent and skill and because she recognized this thing in them, like they were as lost as she was. Santana had been the first and Blaine was the newest. This being his second Games. In return for believing in them, they trusted her, not only with their careers but with their secrets as well. Shelby knows she's crossing a line but no matter how much she liked Blaine, Rachel was her flesh and blood.

"Or maybe I could get Blaine to convince you to do it. You know, tonight when he goes down on you and you're convincing yourself that it means nothing even if it's the only way you can get off." Her words soft but crude and to the point as she sees his eyes widen even as his face blanches.

"It's just a suggestion Kurt. The ratings have been phenomenal and it's only been one day." Shelby pinches the bridge of her nose, a headache already forming, "I'll do the rest, I just need you to get them thinking about doing more than just watching kids die on TV."

She does not wait for his answer because she can see from his eyes that he knows he does not have a choice. Still, he does not let her get away scot free. "How do you sleep at night?" Kurt's voice thick with tears not because he is ashamed. If Shelby knew his secret, he was sure that Blaine would eventually be in danger. He wasn't in the public eye which meant to the Capitol, it would be easy to make him disappear.

"Without pills and all alone." She didn't mean to answer but it comes out anyway. "For what it's worth, your secret's safe with me. Just please do it."

Kurt walks out five minutes later, make up perfect and not knowing that he his subsequent words would start a Games tradition that carries on until the last one.

#$#$#$#$#$#

Lucio knows that the trap is deadly, the sharpened branches at the bottom meant to tear into flesh and kill. Dave was crazy but he was most definitely not stupid. They had spend the better part of the day digging the pit and after setting the spikes and camouflaging it, it was time to set the plan in motion.

And Lucio knows he just can't go through with it. His big plan for the Games was to go to ground and let everyone fight it out around him, coming out when the tribute numbers had thinned and fighting who was left. What he lacked in brawn, he made up with speed and smarts. He accepted that he had to fight but to use a trap seemed unfair and worse yet, he knew that all Dave wanted was Rachel Berry and he needed Lucio to get her.

"It's time." Dave knows that they're close. He had caught their trail just before capturing the idiot from 3 and he knows that they'll stay close to the water. He really can't wait to get his hands on those weapons he saw on her, water and god knows what other things and if he got bored, there was always the girl herself. He had seen her looking at the blonde and well maybe he could show her that there were other better alternatives.

The thought of it actually makes him excited as he pulls on Lucio's shirt, "You know what you have to do?" The boy looks almost sick and no one had died yet, well no one except his District mate. Her body had been taken hours ago and the boy still could not look at the spot where she died.

Lucio nods, remembering Dave's instructions.  _'You're going to be hurt and looking completely non threatening. You tell them I attacked you but you got a lucky shot in and escaped and I'm hurt and you need help to take me out. Then you lead them here. Make sure she's in the rear'_  It was a decent plan if Lucio could act but he was never good at it and the only thing that he really can project is fear but not pain.

"Are you ready? Look at me." Dave's voice more of a command even if his tone is kept low.

It's then that he looks at Dave and his fear surges as Dave lunges forward, twisting his arm behind his back until Lucio feels his tendons tearing but worse yet, he hears the crack of his humerus before he falls to the ground cradling his broken arm. Dave bends down, "Well now you're definitely ready."

He pulls Lucio to his feet and pushes him in the direction he needs to go. "I'm going to be near and if you even think of not following through, you're going to beg me to kill you when I get my hands on you. And trust me, you haven't felt pain yet."

Lucio does not hesitate as he runs unsteadily in the direction Dave is pointing to.

#$#$#$#$#$#

Rachel finally manages to open a compartment with food, the dried meat and nuts were much needed. It had not been her choice though because what she had wanted was to get to the medication to bring Quinn's fever down. But it had been Quinn who has asked for a vote. She had stilled Rachel's hand before turning to the group and asking them to vote for which compartment to open next.

Even if she had a vote, it was the first time that Rachel felt like she was different from the others, different even from Quinn. And Quinn had picked up on it almost immediately, pulling her aside after she had distributed the food.

"You have to eat, keep your strength up and this will lighten your load as well." Rachel does not look at her, Quinn's earlier unintentional snub still stinging because she just can't understand why Quinn won't let her protect her.

"Rachel, I meant what I said about beating the odds. I'm going to be with you every step of the way." Quinn got her stubbornness from her father and there was no way she would make a promise and try not to keep it. She had promised her father she would try and make it home and if that meant being the last two standing, then, she was determined to do that.

"You're still burning up." Rachel can feel the heat radiating off Quinn and knows that the flush in her cheeks were caused as much by the fever as by the strenuous climbing.

"Water and food will help." She knows that Rachel has matches too and Sam was looking forward to building a fire tonight to roast the rabbit that Brittany had caught. It was going to be difficult convincing Rachel to release those as oppose to the medication but she had already used up the ointment, her back still hurting but at least not unbearably so, such that she does not want to take anything else that the others or more importantly, Rachel might eventually need.

"I love you and I promise I won't leave your side." It's finally the right thing to say as Rachel smiles at her words.

"Stay back." Finn's shout had both of them on their feet and running towards the noise. Quinn sees the boy from District 3, filthy and his hand at such an odd angle that she knows it'll never set right.

"I'm sorry... He...I'm...Please, he's ..." Lucio sees the five of them draw close, The blonde girl standing in front of Rachel, the blond boy by her side and Finn and the other girl from 1 right in front of him. He feels sick from the pain but worse from actually following Dave's instructions.

His father's words again echoing in his head and he knows what he needs to do. "Dave...he attacked me and..He's injured...I need your help."

"Do you know where he is?" Sam's voice sounds hopeful and all Lucio can do is nod.

"We can finish him off." That statement directed at Finn who nods back.

"You guys stay here." Sam's already striding forward but Rachel's voice stops him.

"You're going to need me." She pulls out the sword she had used earlier. Luckily, her blood had been washed off in the water that had engulfed them. Still, she can see Quinn shake her head.

"No, we don't know if he's still there." Quinn does not know why but she just thinks its a bad idea. She doesn't want Rachel anywhere near Dave but more than that, she doesn't want the boys to go either.

"Are you sure he's hurt?" Finn grabs hold of Lucio, pulling him closer.

Pain shoots up his arm and he bites down on his tongue, not wanting to cry out as he just nods to Finn's question.

"We'll go and you can stay here." He looks at Rachel who finally meets his gaze and does not look away.

She knows why he's doing it and can't let him do it alone. Despite his promise to her father, Rachel knows that Finn would never hurt her and he loved his family more than anything."He's big and he has a knife. You're going to need me with you if you want to end this."

Sam knows she's right but he's torn by his loyalty to Quinn who looks wrecked at the thought of Rachel going with them. But he had seen the way Dave had looked at both of the girls and he knows if given the chance, he would take the guy out before he had the opportunity to hurt Rachel or Quinn again.

Before he says it though, Brittany does, "We should all go. You guys take lead then me and Rachel and Quinn in the back. If he's there, we can use Rachel's axe to end him." Her words all a monotone but all of them can tell that she meant every word.

Sam still looks at Quinn who finally takes Rachel's hand and nods.

"Show us where."

#$#$#$#$#$

They make so much noise that Dave has no trouble hanging back, just ensuring that Lucio had not chickened out and by the looks of it, they were all headed directly to his trap. He needs to time it right and runs parallel to them, just waiting for the right moment.

Lucio knows he needs to do something soon. Quinn had offered to set his arm and Rachel had passed him some of the dried meat they had. Each act of kindness highlighting that he was on the wrong side and he had one chance to make it right.

He sees the trap up ahead and stops, looking into the trees hoping to spot a camera. He sees one in the tall fir to his left and he stares at it. Hoping his father would see that he took his words to heart. He nods once and starts to walk, his steps getting quicker such that Finn and the rest has trouble keeping up as eventually he runs forward as fast as he can.

"Hey." Finn calls out and reaches out to grab him but Lucio's just a bit faster as he hits the trap and falls in, the spikes impaling him almost instantly.

Finn's momentum forward sends him down as well, landing next to Lucio, a sharp branch sticking out of his side. Sam too, doesn't stop in time but Brittany's quick as her hand shoots out to grab his. He ends up dangling by the side, his feet trying to find a foothold but failing.

Quinn rushes forward, throwing herself on the ground and reaching down, "Sam, give me your hand." She sees fear in his eyes but he still tries to smile at her and distract her from looking at Lucio's broken body or Finn bleeding out.

"What? Won't Rachel get jealous?" She huffs at his words and reaches out even further to grab at his free hand. She sees Brittany struggling next to her but finally, they manage to pull Sam out, his body collapsing between them as they catch their breath.

Quinn is the first to notice when she does not feel Rachel. It's like they're connected somehow and she just knows when Rachel's nearby only she doesn't feel her. "Rachel?" Her voice laced with dread. She scrambles up, her back and hands hurting but it's nothing compared to the pain in her heart when she does not see the brunette anywhere.

"Rachel!" Her voice increases in volume and intensity. She feels the tendrils of panic take over as she runs back the way they came, looking for clues or footprints. "Rachel!" her voice raw now but she can't not shout her name.

She looks frantically around until Sam comes into her vision and she wants to clamp her hands over his mouth to stop whatever he was going to say because she wouldn't be able to function knowing it. But he says it anyway and all she feels is pure terror.

"I think Dave has her."

**End Part XIII**


	14. Going In A Different Direction

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**Chapter XIIII**

**Going In A Different Direction**

Dave wonders if he's hit her too hard when she's still unconscious half an hour later as he deposits her onto the ground of the cave he had found. Three compartments have already been opened and he finishes the food and takes the sheet for himself, leaving her sprawled on the wet ground.

He wonders where the others are at, hoping that they come after him. It's then that he pulls out a knife from Rachel's back. He touches the blade, feeling it's edge, knowing that it was destined to draw blood preferably Quinn's. He pulls on it, the wires still connected to Rachel and wonders what the brunette was going to do when he used her to kill the one person she seemed to have formed a connection with.

He shakes his head at her stupidity, even as he tugs harder, testing the connection such that he sees her skin rise each time he pulls, tiny drops of blood forming round where each wire pierces her skin. And when she, moans, it actually makes him smile.

"Get up." He nudges her body with his foot. Her eyelids flutter but don't open and he kicks out in frustration, his foot connecting to her side as she cries out and tries to roll away from him. Only he still has the weapon in his hand and he pulls on it, stopping her forward momentum and dragging her towards him.

He bends down, his fingers pulling on her chin, forcing her to look at him, "You're with me now." She tries to pull back but it only spurs him on to twist harder such that she has to clench her jaw in order not to cry out. "I'm in charge and you'll do as I say or else. Do you understand."

Rachel nods but it's not good enough as he rears back and slaps her across the face. "I know you have a voice on you so you answer when I ask. Do you understand?"

"Yes." She spits out directly in his face and the subsequent slap hurts worse than the first but it was so worth it at least until he sneers at her, his words making her feel scared and small.

"I can't wait until she tries to rescue you, like a lamb to the slaughter." He grins, "Open another compartment, I need something more to eat."

Rachel almost opens the compartment with the fever medication, knowing Quinn really needed it and accepting that Quinn would come for her even if she didn't want her to. But in the end, she does as he says, looking at him stuff his face while offering her nothing. The only consolation was the fact that she's so worried about Quinn that even if he had given her something, her stomach was so knotted that she wouldn't be able to keep anything down.

The sun had set hours ago and when she hears the boom signifying the end of the second day, she actually starts to pray maybe for the first time in her life. She doesn't ask for her pain to go away or to escape from Dave. Instead, she prays that the two shots she hears have nothing to do with Quinn.

Deep down, she can still feel Quinn with her and maybe it was just her survival instinct kicking in and she was deluding herself. But Rachel can't give up hope, that tiny inkling that Quinn was still out there alive was not strong but it was there and Rachel tries to make herself comfortable on the hard ground with that singular thought her only comfort.

#$#$#$#$#

Sam cannot figure out how Quinn's not only standing but still trudging through the forest, pausing every now and then for Brittany to pick out Dave's trail. He's not even sure that the tall girl was even capable of it. But she had caught the rabbit and when Quinn had started to panic, it had been Brittany's calm monotone voice that made her stop. 'I can track him.'

Quinn had almost sobbed with relief before demanding that Brittany do so. Only the girl had shook her head, her eyes focused on Dave's trap and Quinn finally realised that Finn had fallen in and was hurt. Sam was looking down on him, debating as to what he could do. None of the options he could think of were palatable to him. But he also figured out that they just couldn't leave Finn like that.

"Finn." Quinn lies on the ground, her head over the side as she looks down at Rachel's friend. His face already ashen and his breathing laboured. She can hear him drowning in his own blood because the branch had punctured his lung.

"Where's Rachel?" Even mortally wounded, he feels he has a duty to the girl he grew up with. If he closes his eyes, he can picture her then, pigtails and skinned knees, a gap between her teeth and a nose she had yet to grow into. But still with the biggest brightest most beautiful voice he had ever heard and it was still something even now. And if asked what was the one thing he most wanted before he died, Finn knows it would be to hear her sing one last time.

"We think Dave ..we think he has her." The hitch in her voice is unmistakable and Finn actually looks like he wants to get up and go after her, his torso moving even as he gasps in pain.

"She's ...she's strong but you need to go and..get her." He focuses on Quinn, like he wants to tell her something more only his vision goes dim and he thinks he's looking at Rachel so he smiles, "Hey...remember...remember when you caught me trying to learn to dance?...Rach?"

Brittany looks away as her hand swipes at her eyes and Quinn knows that Finn doesn't have much time. She desperately wants to start looking for Rachel but she can't leave Finn to die alone either. She knows deep down that Rachel wouldn't want that.

"Rach?"

"Yes, I'm here." Quinn truly wishes that it were true but if Finn needed Rachel to be there for him, Quinn just had to believe that she was still with them, at least for a little while.

"Hey." Finn smiles up at her, his eyes closing shut as his head slumps back. "After you stopped laughing, you ...took my ..hand showed me the ...steps and started singing." His voice drops off a bit.

"Finn." Quinn hopes that he's not in pain anymore but then he coughs, blood spurting out of his mouth as he tries to form words and Quinn suddenly knows what he wants to hear. She doesn't know many songs, just a few hymns sung quietly in small houses when they could get together to pray. And one song that had been stuck in her head. A song sung to her by Rachel, the tune so clear if she closes her eyes and she does when she starts to sing.

Brittany joins in at the end and when her hand closes around Quinn's, she knows that Finn is gone. She used to think it was to a better place. But anything was better than the Games and right now she just hopes that Finn is free. That he's back somewhere where he used to be happy and unencumbered by his past.

"We should go." Sam's voice is rough and Quinn knows that he's affected by Finn's death, they all were. Even if they didn't know him for as long as Rachel or Britt did, it didn't mean that he wasn't their friend.

Quinn thinks about Rachel out there at the mercy of Dave and even though she's scared out of her mind, she knows Rachel believes in her and she had made a promise to the brunette to be by her side so nothing was going to stop her from at least trying to fulfil it.

Which was why she was still putting one foot in front of the other despite the fever raging within her. She just won't quit even if she feels like her skin's on fire and she can't string together two words, just the one, over and over agin accompanying the pounding in her head, 'Rachel'.

She feels Sam pull on her arm but Brittany's still up ahead and she knows in her heart that each step she takes brings her closer to Rachel. "You have to stop." Quinn knows he's only looking out for her but she needs to find Rachel. There was no other option.

So she tries to pull out of his grip but he does not relent. "Let go." Quinn grits the words out as she cranes her neck to spot Brittany but Sam ignores her as he call out for Britt to stop.

"No" Quinn can't believe that this is happening as she sees Brittany bounding back towards them. "Don't you understand, Rachel's out there with Dave."

"He's not going to kill her, not when he went to all that trouble to get her. Quinn...you need to rest, we need water and some sleep and a plan." He hopes he's getting through as he sees Quinn meet his eyes. He can see that she's sick and exhausted but more than that, she's frightened out of her mind, not for her own well being but for Rachel's.

"If he hurts her..." She can't even finish the sentence as she finally sags against him, her body going limp as fatigue overcomes her.

"We'll kill him." Brittany answers her instead as she drifts off, her consciousness fading but Rachel's name still pounding in her head.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

"What do you mean they want to participate?" Sue whirls around in the already crowded room, her voice screeches out sending a few of the escorts scurrying against the walls while the past winners just stand their ground, looking at her balefully.

Shelby had hoped for some support but the response had been overwhelming with petitions and people gathering in restaurants around the Capitol to show their solidarity for the tributes, especially Rachel and Quinn. It's been shown as a tentative friendship on TV but the last scene of Quinn screaming Rachel's name, her face showing fear and shock had been so visceral. That coupled with Kurt's earlier suggestion had taken the Capitol by storm.

Which led to calls and emails and posts all calling for some sort of assistance to be given to the tributes, people wanting to send food, medicine and even volunteer to find Rachel. The ratings at an all time high with everyone anxious to see what would happen next.

It put Sue in an enviable position as Head Gamemaker but it also put her in the crosshairs of the President when he called to congratulate her on the ratings but still highlighted that the 'friendship' he was seeing develop on the show was fine as long as it stayed a 'friendship'. The Games was costing him money and he wanted value out of them but also to preserve his own values.

She could actually picture him air quoting the word. It would have been funny if not for the fact that his implied threat had turned explicit. 'There's no place in the Capitol for acts like that, Sue; like there was no place for your sister.'

She had gripped the phone tight in her hands, her eyes closed and her jaw grinding down as she controlled the urge to really tell him what she thought. In the end, realising that she could either defy him and lose her standing or be smarter than he was. So she had called this meeting and she's not surprised when Shelby steps forward. The woman was hiding something and eventually Sue knows she'll figure it out.

"A citizen is offering one thousand credits to be able to send some medicine to Quinn." Shelby looks at Will who finally steps forward too.

"Another wants to send a diamond cutter to Rachel so she can cut the wires from her back. She's offering two thousand credits". He can't believe the offers and from the looks of it neither can Sue.

"They want to buy their way into the Games?" It was a novel idea, a way to garner support and money and maybe even a way out for either of the girls she had come to respect.

"Apparently. All the calls and questions into my show yesterday was about what they could do to help or to send something to the tributes. I know it's an insane idea but maybe ...maybe we should let them." Kurt tries his best not to look at Blaine who's standing in the back with the rest of the stylists. He had been shaken by Shelby and had cancelled his date but looking at him now, Kurt knows that if Quinn could take the chance with Rachel on National TV, no less. Then he needed to be true to himself as well. And when he does finally look at Blaine, he sees him smile and nod at his words.

Sue still hesitates though. Only two days have passed and only seven tributes remain and she knows that the Games can't end too early either. She needed to prolong suspense, make the citizens even more invested. It wasn't only pride driving her but the fact that she's seen so many people die, both in the Games and out of them. Gamemakers and escorts who had fallen out of favour and she didn't want anyone else from her team added to that list.

"We could start with an auction." For the first time in years, Will does not feel like getting a drink. He actually feels like he can be a part of something and not just a pawn. It's still a long way off from absolution but it was a tiny step in the right direction.

He looks at Sue, "We can steer it towards maybe getting Rachel away from Karofsky, at least to prolong the Games." He knows there are spies everywhere and he chooses his words carefully. They're not allowed to have favourites but he knows the two girls have somehow wormed their way into people's hearts.

"And what about my boy?" District 10's winner from the Eighth Games finally speaks up. The jagged scar across his face and empty eye socket speaks of the violence he had endured and his voice is sharp because he knows that his tribute has the best chance of winning this without any external intervention.

"You're taking away his chance to win. His family's chance at a better life." Goolsby had used his looks to get ahead until another tribute had caught on, destroying what he had valued the most. It didn't stop him from winning though and he knows that Dave could also win, the boy's bloodlust even surpassing his own.

Sue sees Will stand toe to toe with Goolsby and knows they both have a point. The perils she unleashed had no favourites and they couldn't start now. They had to let the citizens decide. "We'll put up two items up for sale, a hunting knife and a medical kit. Minimum bid price of five thousand credits for either. Whichever tribute's name raises the most money gets sent their gift."

Shelby sees Goolsby rush out and knows he's already planning something. She just hopes that she can cash in on her favours and save Rachel first.

#$#$#$#$#$

The sun wasn't going to come up for a few hours but he's already feeling restless, his fingers itching to feel blood flow again. Dave glances over at Rachel, who's curled up on the floor and decides that he might as well see what else she could do for him.

Like before, he kicks her awake and at least she does learn because she scrambles up and backwards before he can kick out again. "What else do you have on you?" He can see her debating on what to tell him and he lashes out, his backhand snapping her head back.

"Mmatches...more food, water...fish hooks, bandages, Some rope and..some medicine." It's the way she says the last word, like she's reluctant to share it that makes him think there's a reason for her initial hesitation.

"What kind of medication?"

Rachel knows she needs to save the medicine for Quinn. Her infection induced fever was not just going to go away and the only thing Rachel was certain of was the fact that she wasn't going to give it away to Dave. "I don't know. Tthey..didn't tell me." She doesn't really need to feign her fear of him.

"Give it to me."

Rachel knows what's coming and she takes a deep breath, swallowing the saliva and blood in her mouth from his first hit. Her hand goes to her back as pulls out the axe and scrambles to stand up. "No."

It's the way Dave smiles at her that makes her skin crawl even as he takes a step forward. "You are so going to pay for that." His voice low and menacing.

"Rachel" the distant sound of Quinn's voice, a timely interruption as they both turn to the mouth of the cave, Rachel's expression a cross between hope and fear and Dave's smile just gets wider.

He lunges at Rachel, one hand pushing aside the axe as the other grabs her around her throat. He squeezes just a bit harder than he should and only eases off when he slams her body against the wall and sees her slide to the ground unconscious.

He definitely wants to punish her and he knows the best way to do that was to go after the girl currently calling her name. He puts her over his shoulder holds the axe she had taken out, in his hand. It wasn't exactly comfortable but he could still kill with it.

Dave sees the hunting knife at the mouth of the cave and it throws him. He was certain that it wasn't there when he brought Rachel in which meant it was something new in the Games, a gift of sorts. It meant he didn't need to bring the girl with him and it definitely meant, he could kill faster.

It feels good in his hands and there is this need to christen it, make it draw first blood as he looks back at Rachel slumped on the floor, only to feel the ground beneath his feet suddenly begin to shake. He makes up his mind then, a smile on his face because he knows his new toy could even cut through bone and he'd love to hear her scream in that voice of hers.

#$#$#$#$#$

Quinn wakes up completely disoriented and panicked when she sees that it's still dark out. She hears Sam and Brittany whispering and realises she's on a pallet being pulled by them.

"Are you sure she's in there with him?"

"Yeah, I heard her voice. It sounded like he was hurting her."

"Rachel." the anguished way the name comes out is augmented by the crashing realisation that Rachel wasn't with her and she had not kept her promise. And all Quinn can focus on are Brittany's words. She sees Sam turn to look at her and the pity in his eyes is as unbearable as the knowledge that Dave was hurting Rachel.

"Brittany tracked them to a cave about half a mile out. She's alive." Sam knows that she had heard them when he sees tears in her eyes. "We'll think of something to lure him out." He reaches out to touch her forehead and the coolness of his palm is such a contrast from the heat she feels but she tries to get up anyway.

"Don't. You're really burning up" Quinn feels Sam's arm on her but ignores his words because she has only one focus 's shivering, not from the cold but from the fever but it does not stop her from standing up. She sways a bit but still manages to stay upright. It's a start but she's still at a loss as to how to save Rachel.

"So what's the plan?" Sam's voice sounds hopeful but she really can't think straight as she looks at him and shakes her head.

"We kind of look alike." Brittany's oblique segue not making any sense even as the girl looks at then expectantly. "When we were walking this morning, Rachel was next to me." Brittany liked Rachel. Even if they never really were friends, like she and Finn were, Brittany liked her because she always tried to do the right thing.

Even if it was just to sneak food to some of the families who needed it on the District or to sing to the little kids in school or even to the dying people at the hospital. Rachel never knew it but that was where Brittany had first heard her. She had been in for one of her treatments and had stumbled into the hospice ward.

People sent there to die with limited medication and all Rachel had was her voice to try and soothe the dying because it was all she had. "Rachel said that if she squinted and our backs were to her, we kind of look alike. Don't really sound alike but if we shouted we would."

Sam still does not get it but Quinn does as she nods to Brittany. "How fast can you run?"

"Pretty fast. You just need to see where he comes out from." Brittany likes Quinn too and wishes both Rachel and Quinn could win. But she had promised her life for Rachel's so she at least had to try and get her back. She still doesn't know how Hiram Berry managed to hide her prognosis from everyone. It was kind of poetic that even if she were dying, she could still look out for her family and ensure they were fine just by volunteering for the Games if ever Rachel got made her feel like she had a purpose and wasn't defined by the fact that she only had a few more years to live.

Initially, Brittany was sure she would come to resent Rachel but it never did happen that way and the first time she heard her sing, she knew that Rachel was special and her voice was special too. "We're going to get her back."

Quinn truly wants to believe that as she turns to Sam, "Brittany's going to lure Dave out and when he shows himself, we .."

"Take him out?"

"Yeah, we take him out."

"Ok, at least there are three of us." Sam knows Quinn can barely stand much less fight but she was so determined to try that he knows he has to help her no matter what.

"Four." Brittany counts Rachel which actually makes Quinn smile. She knows she can at least do this much. Maybe just keep her last promise to Rachel even if it takes all her strength and her current constant prayer to even stand upright. She just wants to be by the brunette's side when she lets go and gives in to oblivion. And she knows in order to do that she'll have to rescue Rachel first.

**End Part XIIII**


	15. Fulfilling A Promise

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**Fulfilling a promise**

**Chapter XV**

"That sure is a lot of money." Trust Mercedes to state the obvious as she looks at Shelby trying to outbid the other people on the monitor. "What's up for grabs now?" She looks at the other TV screen and sees Dave Karofsky standing menacingly over Rachel and it makes her shiver but she does not miss Shelby's terrified look either when she sees the same thing. The sum of credits Shelby had typed in was high but Mercedes always thought she had a lot more saved up but maybe she had already used it which was why she looked so desperate.

"Who is she to you?" Mercedes knows that one of the reasons Shelby took her on board was because she was a world class gossip and every now and then she would stumble on a piece of news that could be worth a lot of credits to the right people and Shelby always knew who the right people were. Right now though Mercedes knows that the girl on TV, the tribute from District 1 meant a lot to Shelby. So much that she would put up a good chunk of her savings for her.

"That's none of your business, Mercedes. You should be working on the wardrobe for the past winners interviews." Shelby looks at the bid go up again and tries not to look at Dave terrorising her daughter on the other screen. She knows that she shouldn't take out her frustration on Mercedes and sighs before she turns to look at her. "I'm sorry...I just...I'm..." she trails off because she does not know how to explain her situation much less how to fix it.

"She must mean a lot to you if you're trying to help her by sending the boy the knife" Mercedes sees Shelby nod at her words, her eyes blinking back more tears even as her hand swipes at them. She does have some news though even it is is not the good kind. "Dustin Goolsby is beating you to the bids because he's playing the odds with the bet makers. He's guaranteeing who Dave kills if he sends him a weapon."

Shelby realises that it was a battle she couldn't win even if she knew that she needed to. "Damn it."

"If we all pooled together.." Blaine's voice surprises her but not as much as seeing Santana and Emma accompany him into the room.

"She looks like you." Santana had seen the resemblance from the beginning but never put it together until she had seen the look on Shelby's face when they were connecting Rachel to her weapons and clothes. She had tried not to flinch each time Rachel would gasp in pain or when they had to pierce her skin. Even now, she could hardly look at the TV screen where that psycho farmer had Rachel with him.

"We know she's...important to you which means she's important to us." Emma's soft voice finally chimes in as she places a slip of paper on the table.

Shelby shakes her head when she sees it has the numbers to Emma's credit account, in fact, to all their credit accounts. "I can't take this. not after I..." She looks back at them, speechless that they actually cared especially since she had used them all at one time or another.

"Sometimes you don't get to pick family but sometimes you do." Blaine pushes the paper towards her. He knows what she had said to Kurt but he also knows that she wouldn't tell anyone else about him. He'd bet his life and savings on that fact.

But Shelby's relief is short lived when she looks back at her screens to see Dave hitting Rachel and someone else already winning the bid. Butsweep down, she knows that her daughter is strong. Stronger than she ever was and all she needed was a chance and if she couldn't send the knife to Sam, she could at least send the medical kit to Quinn and hopefully give her a message as well.

"Is Sue still letting you prep the supplies?" Santana is surprised by the question but she figures that Shelby has something else up her sleeve so she nods.

"Good, I need you to put this message in it when we win the next bid."

When she and Hiram were growing up, he had spent one summer teaching her how to play chess. It was before the war, before the death of their parents and before LeRoy came into their lives, stealing both their hearts and ultimately breaking them apart.

She made herself forget all of it but she never forgot the game, the need to strategise, to know your opponent and picture all the different moves always with the one goal in mind to win. Spending a good chunk of her savings on the capsule was well worth it especially when she knows now that Quinn would gladly take it to save Rachel's life.

She had been in the Games room when Will had to redirect the cameras. She had heard their words of love and wonders if it's her one genetic link or worse genetic curse that she had passed to Rachel, to love too much and ultimately to suffer for it.

But at least it gave her certainty that Quinn meant what she had said. Her words, that declaration to Rachel so heartfelt and simple but Shelby knew she meant every word of it so if it came down to the two of them, Quinn would know to take the capsule and let Rachel win.

All she had to do was to get the message to Quinn and hoped that she manages to get to Rachel. The odds of Rachel and Quinn surviving the next few days were higher than she thought they would be and she actually believed in them, their love had shone through despite the odds and machinations of the Capitol. It made her want to believe again.

She scribbles down the words, the message and instructions clear and hopefully Quinn understands all of it. "Go." She hands it to Santana before turning back to the bids, she sees the kit also being bid on for Dave and hopes that their pooled resources would be enough.

#$#$#$#$#$

The sound of the canon signifying the end of the second day is like music to Sue's ears. Although eighteen dead meant that the Games would possibly not last the week. Ratings were the highest they've ever been in nineteen years but she knows that they can't let it end too early either.

The Tenth Games had ended in four days and the entire Gamemaker Team responsible somehow perished in a train wreck the next day, filling the rest of the week with that story and ensuring that the Capitol still had something to watch. It was how she got her first chance to move from escort to Gamemaker, working her way up to Head Gamemaker three years ago. Its not a position she will want to relinquish any time soon although for the first time in years, she feels a twinge of something inside her that she doesn't want to acknowledge.

She can see Will and some of the others monitoring the bids, silently rooting for their favourites. The hunting knife a hot favourite with bids for Sam and Dave almost neck and neck. Seeing the determination on Quinn's face, she figured if the blonde was not ill, she'd be in the running for it too.

Will had been right, their friendship was a rallying point but she knows that even if its only been two days and they haven't shown anything more than the handholding and those looks that they shared. It somehow translated and resonated with people.

Their attraction to each other so obvious that each time the other wasn't on screen, there was this anticipation that something was missing only to be obvious when they were together. Each time their eyes meeting and conveying so much more than words ever could. It was obvious to anyone watching if they had a heart, but most of the Capitol didn't really.

So Sue really does not expect the call but it comes anyway. She sees Will's worried face as he passes her the phone. She had followed his instructions, only showing friendship and it wasn't her issue if people inferred more out of what wasn't shown.

She had plausible deniability on her side and if all things failed, she could always put the blame on Will although she knows that it won't get that far if she could just deliver what she had promised, a damn fine piece of entertainment.

"I thought I had made myself clear." His accented voice grating but he was the President and Sue knows that she at least needed to show him some cursory respect if she was to get away with what she wanted.

"Crystal." She looks at the screens, now showing the deaths of Finn,Lucio and Claudia. The last one taking the most prominent spot because it was of one tribute killing another. Those always got the most number of hits but surprisingly, scenes of Rachel and Quinn and those of Quinn singing to Finn were trending just as high.

"What they represent is unacceptable." his voice rising, "I won the election on a promise to uphold the values that we all hold dear and what's on the screen..."

She can't help but cut him off, "is completely innocuous. There's nothing to say otherwise and nothing actually can be seen, besides...they're separated currently."She realises her error almost immediately but it's too late to take back when Figgins catches on.

"Yes they are and by the looks of it, you only need a day or so before one of them perishes." Right now, he can't really decide who to bet on dying first. The blonde one was so sick she could barely stand but he could see the crazy in Karofsky's eyes and knows that the girl he has with him won't last too long either. "I'm sure you will think of something more to keep them apart."

She wants to say no, the words 'Go to Hell' on the tip of her tongue, to be followed by 'Hell's probably too good for you'.Only she looks at the people in the Games room as well as Quinn trying her very best to get to Rachel on the big screen in front of her and the words die in her throat.

Sue only ever believed in one person her entire life, even when Jean had been taken away and she had snubbed her all those years ago, she believed that her sister could survive. It was a belief borne out of misplaced love and heavy guilt. And over the years, it festered and made her into someone she knows Jean would never be proud of because she had chosen to cut herself off.

Only, these people she worked with and worse yet, those two damn tributes had somehow wormed their way into making her actually think about them before she reacted. It's what makes her hum a reply back and actually think through her next step for the games.

"I didn't hear you, Sue." His voice carrying that smarmy smile that makes her skin crawl more than Will's oil plastered hair.

"We could release the other peril but I don't know if we will be able to control it?" This time she hopes he picks up on her words.

"That sounds like a splendid idea and you should let it just burn and we'll see how it turns out and who is still standing. Although...well I don't have to highlight that we don't it ending too soon either, do we?" His question rhetorical because he hangs up before she can answer.

"We're going with the fire." She shouts out the command while ignoring Will even though she can feel him staring at the back of her head.

"I don't have time for your weak sentimentality and over addiction to hair products...just pull up the map of the gas pipes and the video of their so called rescue plan." She doesn't even bother to keep her voice down as she stalks up to the playback screens, taking out her red highlighter to map out where the fires were going to start from, most of them centring around the cave Dave and Rachel were holed up in.

All she can do is to give them a chance, a small one that required guts and luck but it was better than nothing.

#$#$#$#$#$

"Are you sure you're ok?" Sam is really worried about Quinn. The fact that she was still standing was testament to her will but he knows that will alone is not enough, not in the Games. She was pushing beyond her limits and the fact that she's swaying on her feet tells him that she won't last the hour. It's not only fatigue but also her fever. Her eyes are glazed over and he knows they need to get to Rachel to save her so that Rachel could save Quinn in turn with the medicine she was carrying.

"No." Quinn's voice wavers, as her eyes slip shut for a bit to stop the everything from spinning around. "But it doesn't mean we're not going to do this. We are going to get her back. I...I need to get her back. And then I am going to kill Dave."

Her determination shines through even as she stumbles such that he has to catch her before she falls to the hard ground. "Remind me not to get on your bad side...ever." He wishes things were different and he gets that maybe if he had not been chosen and she had not had to volunteer, they could have meant something to each other. It's wishful thinking on his part because he's seen the way she looks at Rachel, hell, he's seen the way Rachel had looked at her and the lengths they had gone through for each other. Quinn was probably dying but she just wouldn't stop, not until Rachel was safe.

So no matter how much he would wish it otherwise, he can recognise when something was meant to be and Quinn and Rachel were meant to be and he knows he'll die trying to ensure that they got the chance even if it was short lived. "And you'll have to get in line for a chance at Dave."

He sees Quinn quirk her eyebrow and he smiles before gesturing to where Brittany's standing, "Oh no...not me, Brittany's the one you'll have to get in front of."

"It's nice that you have faith in me." She tries to catch her breath because the one person she has faith in is not with her and she knows it's her fault.

"Rachel has faith in you too." It's amazing how even saying her name makes Quinn stand up just a bit straighter.

"It's going to be light soon. We have to do it now." Brittany pulls Quinn into a quick hug before she scurries off, going to the right hand side of the cave.

"Rachel." Quinn hears Brittany's voice shouting and hopes that Dave can't tell the difference. She strains to hear something, hoping that Rachel would at least call out only there's no sound except for the ambient noise from the forest. She sees Brittany prepare to shout only she feels the ground beneath her feet begin to rumble. And she doesn't wait for Brittany to shout again as she runs forward only to see Dave rushing out of the cave, a large hunting knife in his hand as his head swivels before focusing on Brittany.

"Run."Sam shouts and Quinn isn't sure who he's actually shouting at when she sees a wall of fire erupt in front of her, cutting off access to where Brittany and Dave were. She sees Sam running towards her and she takes a step forward only to have flames erupt in front of her sending her towards the cave.

Quinn takes it as a sign and scrambles on her hands and knees, trying to stay upright and making her way to Rachel. "Sam." She calls back, hoping her can hear her, "You need to help Brittany, Dave had a knife, it .." She does not know if it came from Rachel and if it did, how he detached it from her. All she remembers are the wires attached to smooth skin and prays that he didn't cut Rachel to get to it.

"Help her and I'll get Rachel." The heat is intense and she can't hear Sam but sees him running parallel to the flames and in the same direction Brittany and Dave had run. The problem though was she was also cut off from the mouth of the cave, as the line of trees in front of it catch fire and she knows if she doesn't do something soon, she'd die of suffocation or worse get burnt to a crisp as the flames rush towards her.

The only thing pushing her was the knowledge that she had made a promise to Rachel to be by her side and if she couldn't do it before because she didn't know where Rachel was, she had no excuse right now because she knew exactly where she was. It's not difficult to achieve the impossible if you have someone worth fighting for and Quinn really, truly did.

She sees a narrow opening, about six feet up, between two trees, their branches already in flames and she does not hesitate. Her mind solely focused on getting to Rachel as she runs forward, pushing herself off the ground, her body arching up and through the flames before curling into a tumble as she hits the ground, blisters forming on her arms that she ignores as she really only has one goal.

It's only when she stumbles into the cave and sees Rachel slumped against the wall her eyes scanning for movement and the almost imperceptible rise and fall of Rachel's chest finally allowing her to realise and accept that she's pushed herself beyond her limit.

She stumbles the last few steps towards Rachel before she collapses, her hands touching the brunette as her eyes slip shut and Quinn sends up her last prayer, thankful that she had kept her one promise and finally giving into oblivion.

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$

Rachel's first conscious thought is that of touching Quinn, her fingers curl around a hand so familiar to her that she pushes herself to try and open her eyes, working through the pain because she knows Quinn is there. By some miracle, Quinn was really there and she needed to see her.

It's then that she feels the intense heat radiating all around her as she struggles to open her eyes, finally blinking them open to be confronted by Quinn's prone body and thick smoke billowing from the mouth of the cave. Her eyes darting about, expecting to see Dave looming over her but he's not there and Quinn definitely is.

She pushes up on her elbow, her hand not letting go of Quinn's as she drags herself towards the blond. She can hear the fire, the loud rumbling, almost like a train as the smell of burning wood and leaves assail her senses. However, it's easy to ignore all of it, the pain, the heat and the sound because all she wants is to get to Quinn.

"Quinn. Please..Just open you eyes ok.." She manages to roll Quinn over as her head goes to Quinn chest. She strains to hear her heartbeat. It had just been yesterday that she had woken up to it beating and she knows it's as familiar to her as her own. Only she doesn't hear or feel anything.

"No..you promised..please Quinn" Rachel pulls Quinn closer, her mouth kissing Quinn's ignoring the fact that despite the heat around them, Quinn feels cooler and just so still. "No..You can't leave me..I won't give up on you..Quinn." Her voice sounding desperate. "No..please..no."

They were supposed to be the last two standing, it had been what Quinn had said, "This wasn't what you promised me, Quinn..Please come back. I know you...please.." Her voice is hoarse from the smoke and tears.

She kisses Quinn again all the while praying for their miracle. It couldn't end this way, she wasn't ready to let go and she knows Quinn wouldn't want to leave her either if given the choice. She's so focused on the girl in her embrace that she misses the box attached to the silver parachute as it floats downwards, landing just outside the cave.

**End part XV**


	16. Respite

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**Respite**

**Chapter XVI**

The one thing Quinn notices almost immediately is that she does not feel any pain. Considering she had been in some form of discomfort ever since she pushed Rachel off her plate more than two days ago, the fact that she feels nothing currently is such a great relief. She actually feels warm and safe, her entire being seemingly cocooned and she somehow knows that she is not in the Games any longer.

And it suddenly hits her that if she's not at the Games, then she's not with Rachel either and that's when she starts to panic because she knows Rachel is somewhere else. "Rachel." She calls out anyway, her voice hopeful as she prays that she hears an answer back. But she can't feel Rachel there with her and Quinn realises that she needs to get back because Rachel was still in danger as Dave was still there.

"Quinn." The voice is somewhat familiar as she turns to see a young blonde woman smiling at her, her arms outstretched and reaching out. Her eyes are crystal blue but it's the way she smiles that resonates so strongly with Quinn. It's like looking in a mirror and Quinn understands that she's actually meeting her mother.

"Mom." She breathes the word out, tears in her eyes as she runs forward and envelopes the woman in her arms. She feels so real and Quinn does not question how it is just knows that this is a chance for her to see her mom, to touch her and talk to her and she can't let the chance pass.

"Baby girl, my baby girl. You're all grown up. Look at you." She feels strong arms embracing her and she finally let's go, all her hurt and fears and everything that she has been holding back ever since she volunteered. Her tears come hot and fast as she tries to catch her breath even as she cries hugh wracking sobs for everything that has happened and all she has lost.

"It's ok, I'm here. Just let it out,baby. " And Quinn does because it's been forever since she's been able to do just that. She's had to look after everyone around her for so long and take care of her father when he let her that she just ignored all her own needs. It felt good to cry, to not hold back and just let it all out.

It felt right to just be and not have to think of anyone else, only she's still blindsided by the knowledge that Rachel was still in the Games and the strong inkling that she needed to go back. "Mom, I have to...I'm sorry. I can't stay here. I have to go back to Rachel."

Her mom still looks so young and Quinn understands that she never had the chance to grow up, to see her grow up and she knows how unfair all of it is. "I wish..." She doesn't really know how to finish that sentence because she really does want so many different things. She wants to have her family, to stay with her mom and for Sam not to die but overriding all of it is her need to save Rachel .

Only Quinn realises that she really can't have all of it except maybe for the saving Rachel part because in her heart, she knows that she can do that and maybe that's what she's always been meant to do. "I have to go back and save Rachel."

"What if you can't?" the question stops her in her tracks as she looks askance, understanding the words but never actually giving much thought to their meaning as she intrinsically understands that she can save the brunette. They had forged a bond so quickly and Quinn could literally feel the pull towards Rachel. It was meant to be and she would save Rachel. She had done so on the first day and had managed to find her even when Dave had taken her away.

Quinn shakes her head,her voice finally confident, "I can and I will." She sees her mom frown at her words but she finally feels like she knows why she ended up in the Games. It might have started as a chance to save Stacie but she knows in her heart that she was made to be with Rachel and to save her.

"What if staying here meant that she would join you soon?" Her mom's tone is questioning and Quinn finally understands that she has a choice to make here and what she decides would also decide Rachel's fate. "And going back would mean more pain and suffering for you?"

It's a heavy decision but still relatively easy to make because Rachel was meant to live a full life. Her voice and her spirit were never meant to die out so soon. "She needs to live, to experience whatever there is out there for her. She needs to win."

"Then you really need to know that she'll have to die to live. Can you remember that, baby?" Its like a riddle maybe and Quinn does not understand any of it but she can remember the words even if they don't make any sense. So she just nods, pulling her mom into another hug that she knows will have to suffice for now because she had to leave her now.

"I'll remember. Will I...will I seen you again?" Quinn's made peace with dying ever since she took Stacie's place and knows that she even has a choice to be with her mom right now but in her heart, she knows she can't leave Rachel to die alone not if she had a chance to be with her.

"In time...I promise." Her mom's words actually sound promising although Quinn can see her contemplating something.

"What is it?" She's made up her mind and nothing will change it but she still needs to know what she's possibly giving up.

"I'm...so proud of you. Of what you've become, of what you're doing now. I wish it could be different and you won't have to suffer any more but just remember that I am so proud of you." Her mom pulls her in for one last hug. Quinn's eyes slip shut and she doesn't feel her mom in her arms any longer but suddenly feels immense pain, her entire body tense and her muscles contracting to such an extent that she feels like screaming only she can't seem to make a sound.

And then she hears it, so faint at first but so insistent that she can recognise that voice anywhere. Rachel calling her name, asking her to stay and she tries her best to acquiesce despite the pain. Pushing herself to open her eyes or to at least respond because Rachel sounded hurt and so very lost and Quinn knows that she needs to be there for her.

#$#$#$#$#$#$#

Brittany can hear him running behind her although she's still faster and knows that he can't track her that well. Her only worry is the fires that's burning around her. It's cutting off a number her paths and she's no longer sure which direction she's headed in. She hears Dave shouting at her, taunting her about what he'll do when he catches her and at least he still thinks he's chasing Quinn. She hopes that Quinn at least managed to find Rachel and they were both ok.

"I'm going to gut you and then I'm going to drag you back to her before I kill you. Do you hear me? You're dead either way so why not make it easy and just give up, huh?" His laughter sounds maniacal and Brittany tries to ignore him as she focuses on trying to find a way through the fires. A burning branch falls too close and burns her arm such that she can't control her scream.

She knows he's heard her because she can hear him changing direction and Brittany just hopes that the fire blocks his path to her. But her luck runs out when he barrels out of the bushes directly towards her, his knife held high. Dave slashes downwards and catches her arm, slicing it open and causing Brittany to cry out once again.

The fires surround Sam and all he feels is heat and all he can hear is the roar and crackle of branches and leaves burning. However, he can't give up because he needs to find Dave and kill him hopefully before he hurts Brittany. He's saved her life once before and does not want her to lose it to Dave.

His eyes are stinging and he goes left only to hear a faint shout more to his right. Sam's not too sure if it's just his imagination but he does not want to risk Brittany's life as he runs right, trying his best to navigate and avoid falling branches and the fires that now really seem out of control.

The smoke is so thick and black but he's at least relieved to see Brittany and Dave up ahead. But it's short lived when he sees Dave thrust his knife upwards and into Brittany's body even as she twists to one side such that it just goes into her side.

"No." His shout is enough to distract Dave as he barrels forward, his body low when he tackles the boy holding the knife. He feels it cut into his back but ignores the pain as he still pushes forward. Sending the both of them off their feet and towards a wall of flames.

Sam feels the heat acutely but does not let go as he keeps rolling towards the fire. He sees Dave's face contort with pain and anger and knows he just needs to outlast the boy. He's come this far and he won't give up.

Except he can't because he sees his sleeve catches on fire and has to let go as he rolls on his hand to stop the flames. He sees Brittany sprawled on the ground, clutching her side and he scrambles onto his knees to get to her. He feels a tug on his left leg and luckily rolls to his right, narrowly avoiding Dave and his wicked looking knife.

They make eye contact and all Sam sees is pure evil, no real emotion except for hate and it chills him despite the heat of the fires surrounding them. Dave takes a step forward as Sam lashes out with his foot, catching him in the shin. He scrambles backwards, his hands cut by the rocks on the ground but he pushes himself back to get away.

Dave standing tall and straight and looking right at them. It's when he smiles as he looks at the trail of blood Sam had left that Sam understands that Dave was not going to kill them as yet. "No." he calls out weakly as he sees Dave turn on his heel and run off in another direction disappearing into the billowing smoke. Sam can't tell if it's in the direction of the cave and prays that it's not.

"Sam?" Brittany's voice is hoarse and as weak as his, affected by the soot and smoke but he hears her clearly as he turns to meet her eyes. There's blood soaking her side and he knows that his back is slick with his own.

"How bad is it?" He slowly makes his way over to her and gently lifts her shirt. The cut looks deep but at least it's not too long. Blood is still oozing out and he knows he needs to stem the flow as he tears off his sleeves and ties it around Brittany's waist. She doesn't make a sound throughout even though he knows it must hurt like hell.

It's only when he's done does he pull off his own shirt and asks her to look at his back. He hears her intake of breath and knows that it's not good news. Sam gingerly reaches back, his fingers touching the wound. He almost bites his tongue at the pain that causes but pushes his index finger in to see how deep it went.

"It's up to your shoulder blade. It's not bleeding as much as mine was." Sam feels Brittany's deft fingers touch his back as he concentrates on breathing in and out, ignoring the pain and thinking about their next move.

"He'll go after Quinn and Rachel. We need to.." He tries to stand and only manages to when Brittany helps him. Only he wasn't wrong about the fires getting out of hand as he sees flames rushing towards them. Brittany barely managing to pull at him as she runs away.

"We need to get out of here first, come with me." She tugs on his arm, knowing that he would be reluctant to just leave Quinn. "We need to stay alive to help them. Besides, I think the fires are cutting off all access to the cave so they may be fine for now if Quinn managed to get there." It's the right thing to say and Sam finally relents and lets her lead him away from the direction of the cave.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

At first she thinks she's imagining it because she wants Quinn to be alive so badly but then she feels it again. Quinn's fingers curling around her own. It's not a strong grip but a grip nonetheless as she feels her thumb compressed between two of Quinn's tapered fingers.

"Quinn, can you please open your eyes. I need to see them, please." her voice still pleading as she holds back a sob of relief when she sees Quinn's eyelids flutter. They don't open as yet but Rachel can see Quinn struggling to come awake and she finally feels like she can breathe again.

"I'm here and we're going to be fine. Just come back to me." She starts to hum under her breath and finally smiles when she sees Quinn's eyes open. "Hey." Rachel's voice is soft as she stares at Quinn, her smile disappearing when she sees Quinn's face contort in pain.

Her own hands shaking as she sees Quinn bite down on her hand, her body curling inwards. "I have some..." She doesn't wait to get the words out as she pulls open the compartment and grabs the medication within. The syringe so small but she hopes still able to help Quinn. It's only then that she notices the fresh burns on Quinn's arms. The skin reddened and blistering in parts. Rachel finally letting go of Quinn's hands, not wanting to hurt her further.

She actually cries as she pushes the needle into Quinn's arm not wanting to cause more pain hoping that this was the right thing to do. She knows Quinn is still trying to hold back her own cries so she just wraps the blonde in her arms, rocking back and forth praying that the medication worked.

"Ssing ...for..me." Quinn forces the words out as she tries to ride out the immense pain coursing through her body. Rachel acquiesces immediately, not even thinking about the song but just needing to do anything to help Quinn. Her voice low as she pulls Quinn closer and sings in her ear, their hands intertwined.

Rachel finally feels Quinn's body relax against hers about an hour later as the blonds's eyes slip shut but this time to sleep, her features no longer contorting with pain but smooth now as she burrows into Rachel's side.

The position she's in is completely uncomfortable but Rachel cannot bring herself to move because Quinn is there and somehow that's all she really needs. It's only when Quinn drops off into a deeper slumber such that her hands loosens their hold on Rachel, does she finally disentangle herself.

She can still hear and feel the fires raging outside but walks towards the entrance just to ensure that their path is cut off. Rachel is too aware that Dave could still be out there and she needed to protect Quinn. It's then that she finally spots the small box attached to the silver parachute.

The heat from the fires are intense and she can see the parachute almost catching fire as she rushes forward to scoop up the box, only realising that the metal was too hot to touch such that she drops it. Rachel does not understand its significance but somehow knows that it could be a gift of sorts.

She kicks it further into the cave and sinks down next to it, suddenly feeling so incredibly tired as the adrenaline rush she'd been on ever since she realised Quinn was with her, wears off. But she fights off fatigue because she's curious about the box, touching it every now and then to test if she could finally hold it to open the damn thing.

She glances to where Quinn is sleeping and is once again amazed that she had found her. Despite the burns, she still looked so beautiful that it takes Rachel's breath away to know that Quinn loved her so much, she braved fires and burnt herself to get to her.

She reaches out for the box again and this time does not let go, the metal still a bit hot to touch but she pulls the sleeve of her jacket over her hand and undoes the latch. The contents surprising her but also finally giving her a bit more hope as she looks at the vials and ointments within.

The small piece of paper tucked in the corner not really getting her attention as yet. She grabs bandages and the mild lotion to wrap Quinn's arms. She cleans the cuts on her face as well as Quinn's and only when she knows she can't do more and has to wait for Quinn to wake up and tell her what other medication she needs, does she pull out the note.

Her eyes going wide as she reads it's contents. The message clear but directed at Quinn. Her fingers unconsciously going to the skin between her thumb and index finger, touching the hard capsule she knows is there. And now that she knows what it's for, she feels relieved to understand that all she needed to do was to stay alive with Quinn until they were the last two standing.

It had always been her plan but at least now, she knew how she would get Quinn to win the Games. She realises that the note was not meant for her but it didn't detract from the fact that she knows Quinn deserved to win and now she had the means to let her.

"Hey, beautiful." Quinn's voice is rough with sleep but it's still one of the best things Rachel's heard in the longest time. She smiles back not shy but just still so surprised that Quinn saw her that way. She makes her way over to where Quinn is laying down and there is no need for further words as she bends down to kiss her.

They're no longer shy around each other, innately understanding that what they're sharing is special and unique. It linked them in ways that words could never. Allowing Rachel to show Quinn how wondrous she was and allowing Quinn to understand just what being loved truly meant.

They don't close their eyes, just looking at each other as their hands roamed and fingers explored. Kisses shared and taken, caresses so gentle as Quinn memorised every inch of Rachel's body, her tongue tracing a path only she knew as Rachel arched her back, hands already linked. "You are my angel."

Rachel remembers the first time Quinn had said those words and how Quinn had looked after when she had thought she needed to hurt the girl in order to save her. But it's really not the case any longer because she now has a plan. And all she needs is for Quinn to survive with her.

"And we're going to make it together. Now and always." She seals that promise with a searing kiss as she reaches her climax, feeling Quinn everywhere as she rides it out, knowing that the blonde was there with her.

#$#$#$#$#$

Sue tries to hide her relief behind her normal scowl but it shines through that even Will turns to smile at her. "If you know what's good for you, you're going to turn around and pull some footage of the two tributes from 11."

She sees Dave hovering about a mile from the cave, blocked by the raging fires and knows that she's at least bought them and herself, 2 days. Sue just hopes he gets impatient enough to go after Azimio. That boy from 11 could at least give Dave a run in the mean department.

Both Sam and Brittany were hurt as was Quinn so she can't really predict who was going to fall next but at least for the next day or so, they were all going to get some form of respite. The only thing she didn't get was that damned note. She was sure that the kit didn't come with instructions so someone had put a note in the box and Rachel had read it.

"Will?" Sue turns towards the voice, unsurprised to see Shelby hovering by the door. The woman had a habit of hanging around more so than previous Games and it was getting to be a bit suspicious. She was looking pretty worried too.

"Corcoran." Her voice sharp as Shelby looks at her, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the medical kit we just sent into the Games, would you?" Sue sees Shelby freeze at her words but her face still passive as she gives nothing away but just shakes her head.

"No, why?" Her heart is pounding in her chest as she tries to stare Sue down. She had seen the kit delivered but not if Quinn had got to it as the cameras had tracked Dave fighting with Sam and Brittany. She needs to know if Quinn was alright and if she got the message.

She sees Sue shrug her shoulders, "No reason, there was some kind of paper in the kit and I was sure it was only suppose to contain medication." Her suspicions completely confirmed when she sees Shelby go pale, her legs almost giving out as she sinks into the chair next to her.

Sue figures she already has too much on her plate to get to the bottom of this today but she does know that she will get to Shelby's secret soon because she controlled the Games and no one, not even President Figgins would change that.

**End Part XVI**


	17. Family, Enemies & Friends

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**Family, Enemies and Friends**

**Chapter XVII**

"She's still alive, Hiram..." LeRoy knows how guilty he feels and the extent to which he's gone through in order to try and save their daughter. And the new changes in the Games have made it easier but also more heartbreaking for them to view. To see Rachel strapped to those weapons and be hunted, seeing her in danger every second was almost too much to bear. But miraculously as well, to see her be saved and to stand up for herself and others gave him hope.

LeRoy can recognize love and though he is surprised that she found it in the Games, he's at least happy that she finally found it even if he knows that it won't last because there was a good chance that Rachel or Quinn or both would die in the next few days. He still has hope and had been amazed at Quinn's tenacity. He never thought that he would ever approve of anyone for his girl.

But Quinn had proved him wrong, saving Rachel at the start and always looking out for her. The editing slick and professional such that all they saw were snippets of a friendship. However, he knows his daughter and seeing her in love even if it was for the first time was easy to recognize and Quinn's love back shone so brightly too.

"And we can try and bid for something, the money you've saved up for us to run..we should use it now." He knows that Hiram's been thinking of it ever since the opportunity came about only he won't do it because of his stupid promise to him and LeRoy wants him to know that he's absolutely fine with him breaking this one. "She's our daughter and she deserves a chance. Send her those cutters."

"The odds..." Hiram's voice stalls as he cannot even bring himself to finish the thought. Like always though LeRoy can read him.

"She's already beaten the odds so far and with Quinn with her.." He sees Hiram smile at the mention of the girl's name, acknowledging that he had not caught on as fast as Hiram had in terms of their connection. He had seen it on the first day at the start. Recognizing that sign that Rachel had made.

More than that, he had pointed out that no one would risk their life like that if it weren't for love. It was something that can only be recognized by someone who had done similar. So when he had seen the flashes of Quinn, of her determined face and the way she had protected Rachel each time they were on screen. How they protected each other, always revolving around the other.

Just glimpses each time, seconds adding to minutes of screen time but shining through so clearly, like a beacon for all to see if they were brave enough. And some were, because things had changed in the Games. ;including the participation of the citizens not only from the Capitol but even from the Districts. The banding together was unheard of before. But his daughter and her love had made it happen even trapped inside the Games.

They had shown how powerful love could be, how powerful it should be despite the tyranny of the Capitol. And he knows they have to do their part as well. Putting their future on the line for their daughter's, betting on her because she had reminded them of their own love and how much stronger it was than hate or anger.

"She does love her doesn't she?" Hiram sounds hopeful for the first time in years. Not even when he had forged all those deals to safeguard Rachel did he ever feel hopeful for the future of his daughter. But now, even with the possibility of her dying in the ruthless Games, he knows she's finally living her life.

Not hiding in secret or pushing down her needs like she has had to do all of her life. Learning from him because he wasn't brave enough to do any different. But Rachel was so brave and he hopes that she knows how proud he is of her. "We need to send her something. So she knows we love her ...and Quinn."

He feels LeRoy's lips on his temple and leans into the embrace. Those strong arms always supporting him and he truly hopes Rachel has also finally experienced what it is to be loved so singularly and how much strength can be derived from such a love.

#$#$#$#$#$#

He hasn't touched a drop of alcohol since he made his promise to Quinn. And he knows that she's trying to keep her own promise albeit, in her own different way. Each day a bit more difficult than the day before but Quinn was hanging on and he knows he needs to do the same.

Russell knows that there are patients outside waiting and hoping to see him. Needing him to heal them or to at least ease their pain. But he's finding it increasingly difficult for him to do so because his own pain, his own wounds that just can't be healed.

Seeing Quinn fight for her life everyday and being completely impotent was taking its toll. More than that though, he knows that his daughter was putting her own life on the line for someone else. Another tribute, a girl that he knows she has never met if not for the Games.

The looks and sparse words that he has heard her utter onscreen is enough for him to understand that his daughter loved the brown haired girl. He knows it's wrong in so many ways. His religion and views formed so long ago all highlight how wrong all of it was. Only, he realizes that there was every possibility that Quinn would die over the next few days and because of that one heart rendering thought, all he really wants is for his daughter to experience something transcending.

He had when he fell in love with Judy. How it made him want to be a better man, how it made him understand that he could be. And he sees it in his daughter, each time the camera focuses on her, how she is focused on the other girl, their movements almost in tandem. Each touch or word draped with so much meaning that he can't deny the love he sees his daughter showing.

And in his heart he hopes that the love she has experienced will be enough to sustain her for her short life. He wants he to win and the tenacity she has showed thus far all point to the fact that she can. Only he can also see that if given the choice she would forfeit her life for the other girl.

Quinn had promised him but Russell knows he can't hold her to it, not after all the neglect he had shown her. Loving his daughter was easy but showing her his love never had been. And now it was just too late.

So the only thing he can do is to pray for her and watch the Games, hoping to not see her death but steeling himself to its inevitability. He sees the gifts being sent and for once knows exactly what Quinn would want as he finally rouses himself from his inertia and goes to take a bath before seeing his first patient.

Russell sees the surprise on all their faces when he refuses payment, not accepting anything even when told he could use it to send Quinn something. His only response, causing the people to look perplexed at first before nodding and finally understanding as they too glance at the screen showing Rachel and Quinn.

"I think she finally has what she needs."

#$#$#$#$

Dave waits until she catches the rabbit so that he can have his kill and eat as well. He laughs at his own joke as he winks at the camera he sees perched in the tree before him. The knife in his hand feels just right and he grips it a bit more tightly before he positions himself, just waiting for her to swerve into his path.

She's holding the rabbit by its ears and whistling ever so softly, signaling to her partner that she's on her way back. It was a pity that she won't reach her destination as Dave grabs her around her neck, the girl not even putting up much of a struggle as he pushes the knife into her back before dragging it across her neck.

Her blood spurting out over his hands, warming them and providing him with a familiar feeling that he knows he will always enjoy. Just as much as seeing the light in her eyes blink out. That split second between life and death that makes him feel invincible.

Dave let's her body drop to the side as her grabs the rabbit from her hand. He does not expect her partner to retaliate so quickly but he does as he barrels towards him, snarling and teeth bared, pushing him to the ground and pummeling his body. The blows are hard because the boy tribute from 11 was wider than Dave and had arms like hammers.

Azimio's anger does not come from Ruby's death but more from the fact that Dave had the audacity to take away his food source. He had known that Dave had been tracking them. He too had been biding his time, building his own strength and waiting for the right time to make his move. First, killing Ruby and then going after the two remaining boys from 10 and 4 and leaving the girls for the last. Easy kills that would allow him to be victor.

He feels Dave fight back, his hand reaching for his back and he barely manages to avoid the knife cutting into his flesh. But seeing the weapon spurs him on as his hands grapple for it, punching Dave in the face and almost winning it until the boy fakes a move and Azimio feels the fight turn against him.

"I don't want to kill you but it doesn't mean I won't." Dave spits the words out through gritted teeth as he holds the knife to Azimio's throat. "There are four more left besides the both of us and I say we kill them all and then we decide who wins." Dave does not want an ally but he's smart enough to recognize when he needs one even if for a short amount of time.

His own injuries not life threatening but painful enough to warrant food and rest. So having someone hunt on his behalf, not the two girls but the boy from 4, would be the clever thing to do. "The boy from 4 and girl from 1 are injured. Easy pickings just south of here."

"And what if I say no?" He feels the knife draw blood, slowly the pressure increasing before he relents, "ok, I'll do it."

Dave's smile is cold, his hands still pressing down, "You might be thinking that you could take me right now." He sees Azimio's eyes narrow and knows he's right. "But you can't find them before they find you and no matter how strong you may think you are, they have the numbers right now. I know where the are and what their weaknesses are."

He sees Azimio nod his head and knows he's made his point but better yet, he's gained an ally. Not one he can trust or turn his back to but one who shares his need to kill. Recognizing the trait was easy but controlling it would never be and Dave knows that their own fight would give the Capitol all the entertainment they would need.

Maybe even rivaling the show he was going to give them when he finally gets his hands on Quinn and Rachel. His rumbling stomach finally snapping him out of his thoughts as he looks down at the rabbit on the ground.

He stands up, his eyes never leaving Azimio's as he slowly mirrors his actions. "Let's eat before we hunt." The smile Azimio finally gives him is very much like his own and Dave can't help but turn to wink at the camera he knows is placed in one of the trees behind him. The distant howl in the background surprising him as he turns to it but does not see anything in the darkness.

#$#$#$#$#

Quinn feels happy. She absolutely knows that she had never expected to feel this way especially in the Games. But here she was, her arm draped across Rachel, the brunette still in the throes of sleep and all she feels is happiness bubbling within. She knows it's fleeting though and to question it would be stupid.

She just needed to accept it and understand that it could disappear in a minute or a few hours and worse yet, Rachel could disappear as well. She would try her

level best to ensure that Rachel was safe but she gets that a lot of things are just beyond her control and the only thing she could really do was be there for Rachel as long as she was still breathing.

There was also the added worry of whether Sam and Brittany were unhurt. Both she and Rachel had held on to each other last night, waiting for the shots indicating the number of deaths and when none had come, it had been such a great relief. Even if it meant that Dave was also still alive and out there.

Quinn realizes she needs to find Sam and Brittany because they finally had some means to tend to their wounds, the medicines Rachel had found could give them an edge and safety in numbers regardless if Dave managed to survive and form his own alliance with the other two remaining tributes even if she knows that Ruby wouldn't do so.

But it's difficult to leave this place, a forced refuge that somehow made her feel safe and more importantly given her time with Rachel. Such a precious commodity in the Games, the respite they had, to be with each other, to comfort and offer comfort. To love and be loved in return, all of it unexpected but needed, unplanned but completely welcomed.

It fortified her belief in God and that ingrained knowledge that somehow, she would save Rachel and ensure she won the Games. It's bolstered by a hazy but distinct memory of seeing her mother and the words they had exchanged. Remembering more that feeling of being safe and loved, cocooned by strong arms and accepting cryptic words that she hoped would eventually make sense.

"Could we..." She turns to see Rachel awake, her brown eyes blinking to adjust to the dim light as she stares at Quinn and just like that Quinn knows what Rachel wants because she wants the same thing even if she knows that they shouldn't remain in the cave for much longer. The burning embers outside no longer offering protection from intruders.

She had spotted the camera inside the cave when she had first awoken but it didn't stop her from showing her love to Rachel. In fact, she prays that it's shown because the people in all the Districts needed hope, not death and violence. Only Quinn knows that it'll never be shown or accepted in the Capitol much less the Districts.

"Could we stay just a bit longer...Let's just stay here. Could we just pretend a little bit longer. Please." The plea in Rachel's voice is palpable and Quinn just can't refuse even as she reaches out for Rachel, the touch igniting a flood of emotion within her.

"This is real. My love for you... everything we're feeling. It's all real and even if we're still in the Games, we're going to finish it on our terms, together." Quinn sees Rachel nod at her words before leaning in and bestowing that kiss that sends her heart racing and her focus on hanging on to that feeling of love and sheer anticipation of Rachel's touch.

Her own fears relegated to the back of her mind along with the impetus to find Sam and Brittany. Her entire being just focused on Rachel, coming together to celebrate their love and acknowledge their freedom for now. Each touch satisfying a need so primal, there are no words necessary as Rachel is guided by her sense memory, caresses interspersed with kisses so deep and languid that she knows minutes have passed as oppose to seconds.

Memorizing each touch and sigh, Quinn's body, her map to explore and taste. A wondrous experience, each time finding something new or different, feeling Quinn's expel of breath on her shoulder as she presses down, skin on skin her tongue and hand slowly trailing downwards in tandem.

And always sharing that look, eyes focused on each other, conveying love and a connection so deep, that Quinn was sure it would transcend death or anything else the Gamemakers or Dave could throw at them. Never looking away or closing their eyes as they both come together. So lost in each other that they miss the sound of the cannon signifying the end of their fourth day as well as the two shots following.

#$#$#$#$#$

"We are going to release the hybrid." Figgins's voice is distinct and both Will and Sue don't have to turn around to know that he's in the room with them to see that his order was carried out. They had bet that he would let it pass especially after seeing the way Dave had killed Ruby and the new alliance that had formed. They had hoped he would stay in his fortress.

"No one has died today and the lost reception from the cave is not being fixed fast enough. The people want blood, my voters want death. They need entertainment, Sue." His voice almost cajoling if not for the fact he was advocating using one of his experimentally bred animals to kill.

Most of the hybrids he had cultivated had die just hours after birthing but she knows his scientists have managed to nurture a few. A genetic patchwork of wolverine, Tasmanian Devil and reptile, trained to attack at the merest hint of blood and never used before in the Games except maybe for now.

Only Sue knows once released, it would target the weaker tributes, the ones that were hurt like Sam and Brittany and Quinn. Dave's alliance already giving him a slight edge and introducing Figgins's hybrid would definitely tip the scales more in his favor.

"What are the odds on Karofsky?" They're all forbidden to bet on the Games bound by an oath that few uphold. Which just meant that they all had at one time or another used their intimate knowledge of the Games to better their own position. Be it Shelby's trading in secrets, to Will's ability to buy a house out of his salary range. To her own ability to build up enough of a slush fund in case she ever worked up the courage to leave the Capitol and be with her sister.

So it's not a stretch to bet on the fact that Figgins's would use his own inside knowledge for his own benefit. "3 to 1?" She hopes he replies and has to hide her smirk when he does.

"2.4 to 1" The derision in his voice enough to let her know he would like it higher which at least gives her an indication that she can still control the situation and remain in control of the Games.

"Already the odds on favorite, the hybrid will only make it even more clear unless..." Sue trails off, walking to one of the other screens, noting that Figgins shadows her movement, hanging onto her words.

"Unless..." His voice impatient and unlike hers.

"Well you make it target Karofsky." She truly thinks she has him but his continued silence makes her finally look up. And it's then she sees his attention captured not by her words but by the small monitor off to the side, the only one showing feed from the cave.

His face transforming from his fake benign look to true apoplectic rage. "Kill them." His voice not raised but each word spat out as if he cannot keep them in. "Release all 3 the hybrids now. Kill them all."

#$#$#$#$#$#$

It comes out of nowhere. One second he's smiling at Brittany as she raises her hand to show him the squirrel she had caught. His own hand raised to wave back. Then all he sees is a blur of fur and claws and all he hears is her high pitch scream.

Sam runs forward even if he knows that there's absolutely nothing he can do. The stench of the animal not overpowering the metallic smell of blood and the sound of snapping bones and tearing flesh.

There's a tiny rational part of him that knows he needs to run in the opposite direction, to find Quinn and keep his promise. But the experiences of the past few days have changed him so drastically. His perspective so skewed by that first kill that he had only managed to find his centre when he first saved Brittany.

Losing her now, after everything they had gone through was cruel so he does not change direction instead he runs straight at the animal, barreling into it as his arms go around its thick neck and locking them together so he can squeeze as hard as he can, the crack he hears not giving him any satisfaction because nothing could bring back the dead. Sam can't bring himself to look at Brittany's broken body though. His faced turned away as he tries to catch his breath and swallow his tears.

The distant howls he hears finally snapping him out of his fugue state because he realizes there are other animals out there and Quinn and Rachel were as good as dead if caught by surprise. He had no way of knowing he would get to them in time but he knows he needs to try.

**End Part XVII**


	18. The Beginning Of The End

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**The Beginning of the End**

**Chapter XVIII**

"There's nothing to feel guilty about." Rachel's voice is soft as her fingers intertwine with Quinn's. She does not even have to look at the blonde to realise what she's currently thinking. It's so easy to understand her , like a switch had been flicked the second she opened herself up to love and all it entailed.

She hates the fact that even their few stolen moments would cause Quinn guilt. The knowledge that maybe Sam or Brittany or worse both were death weighing so heavy on her that her shoulders actually slump. Rachel wants to look at the positives currently even if she knows she can't ignore their precarious situation. But the appearance of the diamond cutters and the one word on the note had strengthened her resolve.

'Love' it was a message and a sign for her and Quinn, she knew it in her heart and the ability to cut the weapons from her and other extraneous wires was just as much a godsend as Quinn had been.

She was free and she knows they both needed to do more in order to turn the Games to their favour. It was a gamble but they were both stronger because of their bond which meant they had to be smart and strategize. They needed to take advantage of being able to separate and hopefully take the upper hand against Karofsky.

It meant finding Sam and Brittany and it meant convincing Quinn to do it as quickly as they could which meant they needed to cover more distance apart than together. Rachel takes out the sword and offers it hilt first to Quinn.

"We'll meet back in thirty minutes, I'll be counting down. We just need to find them...if we can." Her voice tapers at the end as she's really not sure if they'll be able to find Sam and Brittany but she knows Quinn would want to try.

As before, Quinn feels pulled in two separate directions. Her heart telling her to stay with Rachel and always stay with her because there was no other choice. But her head was fighting for equal prominence as she owes Sam her life as well as Rachel's and finding them to share the food, medication and weapons was just as important.

The decision though is made for her when Rachel kisses her, their fingers still intertwined and she feels Rachel hands go around her, almost cradling her body, the words whisper soft but still resonating within her.

"This time, I'm promising you that we'll be fine and we'll finish this together. I love you."

Those words still reverberating within her as she holds onto the sword and turns to wave goodbye, the sign Rachel gives in return causing her to smile.

#$#$#$#$#$

Shannon knows she's being followed but doesn't really know why. She hates everything about about this yearly commitment. The trip to the Capitol with tributes that she does not want to befriend because most if not all just didn't have what it would take to survive.

It hurt to know that she couldn't do much. Not only because she couldn't speak but more due to the fact that she really couldn't help them no matter how much she truly wanted to. She prays for Quinn and Sam. Every minute she's not consumed with watching the screen, she prays, hoping for a miracle she knows is long forthcoming. Only, Shannon also realises that miracles for tributes from the Districts could never really manifest.

They were pawns, all of them, controlled at the whims of the Capitol and it's despotic President. Her contribution, limited to helping the dead. Cleaning the bodies and staying with them until they were all transported back to their home, to their families. Ensuring that though dead, the tributes would not be forgotten, not by her and not by their families.

She looks at the two bodies before her and feels her throat close up, tears blurring her vision. It's the same every time, that helpless feeling that's almost overwhelming, followed by pure relief that it's not her tributes, its not the boy and girl she had seen grow up over the years.

Even isolated, she still saw them, working the boats or every now and then in town when she needed supplies. The nods or looks of awe made her feel like a fraud, her own win driven by luck more than skill. And nothing she could pass on that could help even if she wanted to talk. But she couldn't say anything, the words stuck in her throat. Not that they could help, platitudes and kind words can't instil a killing instinct.

The other winners make a difference, imparting experiences and words that make their tributes want to win, make them want to kill. She wishes she could, she had wanted to tell Quinn so much, to make Sam see that he had the strength to win. But it would alter them, make them less of who they were.

What made Quinn special was her heart and courage and that could not come from words, it came from inside Quinn and all Shannon knows is that her prayers meant something to her and to Quinn. She hears the woman finally enter the rooms as she continues to wipe Ruby's body with the washcloth in her hand.

Shannon does not turn until the woman speaks and even then, she looks over at the next table where the body of the tribute from District 1 has been laid out. Its heartbreaking to see and her eyes finally glancing up to see Shelby, the Head Stylist as she tries to explain her presence.

"I'm...sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you but I wanted to see where they're sent...after." Shelby wants to turn away, to forget the scene before her but she knows she can't anymore. It used to be so easy to think of it just as a job, to forget that she was instrumental in all their deaths. Never thinking that she would ever feel responsible until she took the call from Hiram.

The release of the hybrids and that uneasy feeling that Quinn didn't get her note finally spurring her to take a side. Not just work in the shadows and try and influence from afar. But to really chose and make a decision. And now, all she can think of, every second of every day is all the deaths she had enabled to occur and knowing that by just accepting the status quo, her own daughter would be part of the death toll. She wants to make a difference now, hoping its not too late and realising that there were other people whom she could ask for help. Will was one of them but so was Shannon Beiste.

"I've never been down here. I...I knew it existed but I could never bring myself to come down." She knows that the winner of the first Games hasn't talked in years so she does not expect a response. Only Shannon looks at her and she can read the question in that look.

"My job is to make them look good before they go to their deaths and I never considered that they should be looked after when we send them home." She's crying as she says the words, the heavy realisation of how callous she has been finally hitting her.

But she still has a plan that she hopes will materialise even if it was still a selfish one in that she was just targeting to save Rachel. Only, her daughter was as stubborn as she had been and Rachel's obvious decision to put Quinn's safety before hers means that Shelby needs to prepare for her death.

"Rachel Berry." She says the name with such reverence such that Shannon finally gives her, her undivided attention as she turns fully to look at Shelby, her arms crossed. "If..." Shelby tries so hard to swallow the fear she feels sticking to the back of her throat but it does not really go away and all she's left with are her words, hoping that a miracle does occur. "When she dies" her sob escapes and she has to grab the side of the table in front of her before she can continue. "Can I help you with her body?"

Shelby's ready for the questioning look only Shannon surprises her by just nodding before turning to attend to Ruby's body again. Shelby wants to run out and try and forget the sight of the bodies but she doesn't. instead, she takes another step into the room, her eyes closed a she steels herself. Finally opening them and walking towards the table bearing the remains of Brittany Pierce. She had prepared herself for the sight when she lifts the sheet. But it still does not stop her tears from flowing.

The body before her mangled but at least her face was still intact, eyes closed and looking like she was asleep. Shelby takes the needle and coarse thread and starts to close the wounds on the body, knowing that Brittany's family deserved to see their daughter whole, one last time.

#$#$#$#$#$#

"Quinn!" Sam can recognise Rachel's voice but more than that, he can hear the absolute fear in it and it spurs him on to run faster. He barrels through the dense foliage, ignoring the thorns and heavy branches scratching at his flesh and drawing blood. He just knows he can't let any more people die, not if he can help it. He does not know what to expect. Rachel could be shouting for Quinn to save her or worse, she could be screaming because Quinn was the one in danger. He does not care any more about hiding his trail or keeping his presence quiet. The more sound he made meant he was drawing attention to himself and hopefully away from Rachel or Quinn.

He knows he's close when he sees the lush foliage give way to burnt tress and bushes, the acrid smell of smoke still clinging to the air even if the fires are all finally out.

So Sam calls out as he pushes himself forward, his eyes scanning the area as he finally spots Rachel, her leg trapped in something as she tries to tug it out, "Rachel." She turns to look at him, her hands already on the axe on her back, drawing it out.

"Hey, it's just...me." he tries to catch his breath even as he looks at her foot, trying to figure out how to get her out. "It looks like those old bear traps ...from..before." he bends down and winces as he sees the metal teeth caught in her skin, blood already flowing freely. His mind already split in focus as he gently touches the trap, trying to see how he can remove Rachel's foot and asks the first question on his mind. "Where's Quinn?"

He looks at Rachel when she does not answer and all he sees is fear on her face. "Is she..." he trails off, not really knowing how to finish the sentence because he had heard two shots a while back. One had been for Brittany's death and he just can't accept that the other was for Quinn. She wasn't suppose to die before him. He knew he could not control the Games or stop Quinn from saving Rachel. But he could at least ensure she outlived him.

"No." Rachel almost shouts back as she shakes her head vehemently, "She's not, she can't be. I would know...She went to find you. It was my...it was my idea to split up. She didn't want to but since we got the cutters, I thought it would be ok..." Rachel chokes back another sob as she tries her best to think positively. Her foot hurts but it does not even compare to constricting ache she feels in her heart. "She has a knife with her and ...We were suppose to meet up at the cave. It was only half an hour, no longer..." She points to the entrance, partially obscured by the fallen burnt tree trunks.

She remembers Quinn turning to wave goodbye and instead of waving, she had put her hand across her heart. It was suppose to be their totem, a good luck charm and not a goodbye. Only she's sure that an hour had passed and something had happened to Quinn because there was no way she would not comeback to her. The only thought sustaining her was the lack of the shot indicating yet another death in the Games. It wasn't much as Quinn could still at this very second be grievously hurt, barely hanging on and waiting for her heart to stop.

That singular thought send Rachel skidding even closer to the edge as she blindly grabs hold of Sam's hand, "You have to find her. Please." It's the final impetus she needs as she pulls on her foot, pushing down on the immense pain shooting up her leg and twisting it, using the lubrication of her own blood even as her vision begins to blur and she knows the light headed feeling she was experiencing was only going to exacerbate.

Sam can see the desperation on her face but more importantly, he sees her determination and knows that she's willingly going to endure anything just to get out of the trap and get to Quinn. He does not think about the additional pain he's causing her as he grabs hold of the trap twisting it so that he can leverage the jaws of it with his arms. He has to ignore her cry and tries not to look at her.

Rachel's blood coating his arms as he pries open the trap, her leg still not free but she does not give up as she screams and yanks it out. He sees her skin tear and prays that there is no muscle or tendon damage. Sam's amazed that she's still conscious only to realise why when she utters the one word.

"Quinn."

There is nothing he can say except to nod as he takes the bandages and helps her bind her newest wound. Sam can actually hear Quinn's voice in his head, her concern at Rachel getting hurt again and his guilt at not coming sooner. But he's just as concern as to where she is and prays that she's unhurt and just delayed as opposed to hurt or worse.

"We're going to find her but ..." He does not know how to broach the subject of Brittany but Rachel is nothing if not prescient as he sees her expression morph when it finally hits her that he is alone. The tears flooding her eyes both for Quinn and to mourn Brittany.

Sam helps her to her feet only to have her stumble, blood already soaking through the bandage but the set features on her face gives him enough indication of how strong her will is or more precisely how strong her love of Quinn is.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

Quinn comes to, her face pressed into the dirt and her hands tied behind her back such that they're numb. She feels water seeping into her clothes and knows that she's been out for some time.

She tries to remember something, anything about her situation but her head is pounding and all she can recall is seeing Rachel look at her, her hand in an L shape across her heart.

Memories slowly coming back but still not cohesive enough to give her context to her current situation. It's then that she's yanked upwards by her arms, the motion almost dislocating her shoulder as she's held at an angle, thick fingers digging into her upper arms, her knees dragging on the ground but not resting on it to take the pressure off her arms. She gasps in pain as her entire body weight is placed on her tied arms.

Quinn looks up into the face of Dave and she finally remembers what had transpired. The over powering smell of the dead hybrid just a few feet away and the knowledge that when it came down to it, she hadn't been strong enough to kill Dave.

She turns her head to see the tribute from 11 straining to hold her up. His wounds from the fight still bleeding and his paleness highlighting the fact that he may have already lost too much blood. She feels him shake her though, his question accompanying a jerk to her already twisted arms, causing her to cry out.

"Where's the medicine, the other girl, where is she?" The words strung together, his cadence off and she knows that it's probably too late to save him. Her gaze flicking back to Dave, his smug look already telling her that he knows and doesn't care.

Her arms are burning, her muscles straining as she feels Azimio shake her again. She won't say anything though as her eyes lock onto Dave's. Her gaze not wavering and she can see him getting slowly more incensed. It's not a smart ploy for her if she was just looking to survive but Quinn can't just think of herself.

She needs to but time for Rachel to hopefully find Sam or to go to ground. It may be in vain but Quinn won't take the chance as she smirks at Dave, knowing exactly what reaction she would trigger.

Dave lashes out quickly, the arc of his hand swinging upward and catching her at the side of her head. The momentum of the punch causing Azimio to drop her onto the ground. She braces herself for more hits but nothing comes. She hears harsh voices as she turns her head to see Azimio hands on Dave.

"We had a deal." His words are spat out even if it's not backed up by physical prowess as he sways on his feet. She sees Dave push back but still Azimio hangs on as his voice escalates, "We're suppose to be the last two standing, I need those meds, that animal, it bit me, man. I feel..." his voice drifts off as if the thought in his head had disappeared.

Quinn knows that it's only a matter of time before he succumbs and she can see Dave come to the same conclusion, his words filling her with dread as to what is to come but at least she knows that if they're busy with her, then Rachel had more of a chance to regroup With Sam and Brittany. As always the odds may not be in their favour but at least the numbers would be, knowing in her heart that the three of them could take Dave.

"And what's going to make you feel better is to see her suffer." Dave gestures to Quinn's prone form. "That beast was trailing her, not us. She lead it to you." he sees Azimio nod and knows that the boy was so far gone in his mind that his body was just playing catch up and he only had a small window to use him.

Dave pick up the knife Quinn had with her and holds it out to Azimio. The look he gets in return is questioning and he can't help the grin form forming, his lips stretched thin across his teeth before he answers. "Make her bleed."

#$#$#$#$#$#$#

Will looks at the map he has, the five remaining red dots almost forming a pattern of sorts, blinking in and out and it's easier to look at them then the TV screens before him. They do they best to dehumanise the participants, calling them tributes like they were gifts to be discarded, dressing them up as show pieces and not individuals. His job to make it all as entertaining as possible.

And if he were half the man he should have been, he would have tried to do something to stop it after the first year. But he ignored all of it, just focusing on parts that he could deal with. Only it's not working any more and he's haunted by all of it, the past deaths and the current ones yet to come.

He needs to do something to absolve himself even if he realises it will never be enough, it would at least make a tiny difference. Interference in the Games was punishable by death and that was the first rule all of them learnt when they were hired. He had thought it barbaric but right now, all Will can think about is how it would free him.

He finally looks at the monitor and sees Azimio standing over Quinn, her blood, red against her pale skin and his decision to end her suffering is so easy as he types in the commands. he stares at the screen and see the outcome of his action as the tribute falls, the tracker inserted at the beginning of the games turned into a weapon.

And it all becomes too real for him, the feeling of absolute power over others and feeling totally powerless in his own life. Will wants to do more, he knows he should but he can't type in the command again. He's resigned himself to cowardice he cannot interfere anymore so he turns away from the monitor as he ignores the death and confusion on the screen.

Will knows he won't go home to wait for the peacekeepers to come for him, instead he heads to the boiler room where Quinn had met Rachel the first time. He wishes he could at least say goodbye to Sue and maybe Shelby only to understand that his last act was all they message they would need.

The room is warm and the background sound so comforting and something he could focus on such that when the Peacekeepers finally show up, he barely feels the bullets as they pierce his flesh.

**End Part XVIII**


	19. The Middle of The End

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**The Middle of the End**

**Chapter XVIIII**

She's looking at Azimio when he dies. Quinn literally sees the light disappear from his eyes and that partial look of surprise followed so swiftly by understanding that she remembers from some of her dying patients back in her District. Most of them not showing fear because they knew they were going to a better place, a different place. Instead, realizing and accepting that wherever they were going to, had to be so much better than where they came from.

And she knows Azimio had finally accepted that fate as well even if she sees a hint of regret before his eyes slip shut. Blood spurting from his neck, soaking the ground before slowly pulsing to a stop. Dave looks on almost passively before finally it hits him that his life will never be in his hands and all it takes is someone, somewhere maybe flipping a switch. The sound of a shot signifying Azimio's death reiterating that point such that she sees him react.

Quinn sees anger take over, white hot, intense and targeted at her. She braces herself for it, not wanting to think about how much it was going to hurt and just praying that she can hang on for Rachel. It's that thought, that image of Rachel in her mind's eye. The one of Rachel staring at her, smiling, her eyes sparkling and such love reflected back.

It's like a salve and the hurt and pain just dissolves into the background as Quinn just focuses all her senses on that one totem memory. She has faith that it will save her regardless of whatever Dave does to her now.

Dave wants to kill, to see blood staining the grass and feel like he had just a few moments ago. He wants to feel powerful again, his anger rising when he cannot summon that specific feeling. But he can't as all he sees is Azimio's dead body, blood spurting from a wound that came from within. It wasn't an external booby trap but the tracker that they all had inside them.

The Gamemakers again changing the rules and he finally understands that it's not his Games to win. But it would not stop him as he screams in frustration, knowing that he will still take a life before they can kill him. Quinn's prone form next to Azimio, finally spurring him forward, his hand raised, his knife poised to slash and ultimately kill. His snarl loud and vicious.

The force that hits him, taking him by surprise even as his weapon finds purchase in yielding flesh. Dave falls backwards sprawling on his back, air whooshing out of his lungs. The warm blood coating his hands giving him comfort that he won't die without killing the few tributes left.

He hears her gasp as his knife slides in further. It's a different target that he had envisioned but when he looks up, he smiles because he knows that this particular death is the one that he wanted since she stepped into his path that first day of training.

His smile only getting so much wider when he hears Quinn scream.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

She can see that Sam's worried but Rachel just cannot bring herself to ask him anything because she's consumed by fear for Quinn. She regrets so many things in her short life. Rachel regrets keeping things from her father because she thought it would protect him. Likewise, she regrets never overtly recognizing LeRoy as her father too.

But right now, her most aching regret was getting separated from Quinn. That feeling clouding her mind and making her feel like she won't see Quinn ever again. Even now, she is having trouble picturing Quinn without thinking her in pain or worse. Rachel hopes it's just a manifestation of her fears and not a premonition of things to come.

She's so caught up in the spiral of that one thought spinning a web of fear in her that she does not realize Sam had stopped, his eyes focused on the ridge ahead and his muscles tense. It's only when he grabs her, pulling her close such that she can see the fear in his eyes that she realizes she still needs to stay alive long enough to find Quinn.

"What is it?" Rachel sees Sam look down at her bleeding leg before pulling her behind him, his sword held out as if waiting for an attack.

"It's your blood. It's attracted by it. At least I think it is." Sam sounds frightened although he does not waver in his stance. Rachel can see that he means to protect her regardless of his own safety. And part of her wants that because she knows it will help her odds in staying alive and finding Quinn again. However, she also realizes that she hasn't backed down from any fight and wasn't going to start now.

She draws the axe out and holds a small dagger in her other hand, taking her lead from Sam as her eyes scan the surroundings, looking for the hybrid he had told her of. She smells it before she sees it and can't help her scream as it charges forward.

Sam braces himself, his feet firmly planted and set apart. He expects sharp fangs and immense pain as the animal takes hold but what he is faced with instead is a feeble pull, teeth still sunk into flesh but no force behind the bite. He does not pause though as he takes advantage of the situation, his sword plunging into the hybrid's back.

He hears Rachel's scream taper off as she tries to lunge forward. Only the hybrid perks up then and tears at his flesh. Sam makes the connection almost instantly as he calls out to her. "Scream, Rachel, just scream. Your voice." He's cut off as the animal snaps his arm, his own scream muffled as he tries to stay conscious. And when he hears Rachel's voice again, hitting that note that seems unreal, it's just the impetus he needs as he too shouts as loud as he can.

The sound affecting the animal somehow and finally allowing him just the small window of opportunity to kill it. His left arm broken but it does not stop him from ending it. Sam wonders if he can hang on just a bit longer for them to at least find Quinn. He feels Rachel take his arm, gently cradling it, trying not to cause him more pain as her other hand goes to her side pocket.

"Here." She gives him the cocktail of pills that she hopes will take away his pain and heal him. She does not expect him to refuse except he does. His good hand pushing the pills away.

"Save them, just in case." His voice so earnest as he tries to hide his hurt from her. Only Rachel knows that the end is near for all of them and she just wants to be with Quinn when it happens. And she knows Sam deserved comfort as well.

"It's ok. I have a bit more." It's not a lie because she knows that all Quinn needed was her and likewise all she wanted was to be with Quinn again. She smiles when she sees him acquiesce and swallow the medication. His features still too pale for her liking and his arm still bleeding.

"I have to bind your arm." Rachel sees Sam nodding.

"You have to strap it to me. Make it tight." He looks around for a small piece of wood. Biting down on it as Rachel starts to wrap his arm before tying it to his body. She's unsurprised to see Sam's strong will overcome the pain she knows he's in. It's testament to a l of things but it also highlights that he could win the Games and she knows that maybe that was the outcome that would be best considering everything he had done for them.

"Let's go find Quinn. You both have a promise to keep." And so did he. Sam knows he's close to fulfilling his own promise to his mom. Now all he needed was to find Quinn. He can see Rachel's determined look and they don't talk as he tries to remember what little Brittany had taught him about picking up a trail. The silence allowing them to fall into a rhythm that is finally disrupted when they hear another shot signifying yet another tribute's death.

Only when he turns to look at Rachel, he sees her shake her head indicating that it can't be for Quinn. And he believes her because he believes in love and the determination he had seen in both of them. He truly feels that it will work out as the world no matter how cruel would always have to have a balance. Both Quinn and Rachel were that balance to the Games. They symbolized the tenacity of the people and the will of the Districts.

So he plunges forward, Rachel by his side and when he hears the commotion ahead, it distracts him such that he does not see Rachel run pass until it's too late to stop her. He sees Quinn on the ground as Rachel barrels into Dave.

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$

"It's ending soon." Sue's voice is subdued. The remaining Gamemakers in the room all looking so frightened, their attention more on the Peacekeepers surrounding them than the large screens showing the final four tributes. They know a bit about Will's death but not enough to want to sacrifice themselves. So most of them keep their heads down, going about their work and not acknowledging the sacrifice made.

Only Sue finally understands the price that needs to be paid and the fact that Will had done it for them. She does not want his death to be for naught and realizes that the winner of these Games cannot be Dave. But she cannot do anything right now except to watch and maybe to pray.

She catalogues the injuries of Sam, Rachel and Quinn in her head and wonders how much more they can take before they just keel over from pain, loss of blood and sheer exhaustion. But as always, they surprise the hell out of her, as they keep alive, trying to find each other, always protecting each other.

"When they're together..." She pauses as the Head Peacekeeper looks at her as if daring her to speak out of turn. Sue Sylvester has never really backed down from a challenge when it mattered. It was ingrained in her to push forward and not give up especially when she knows she's right.

In this instance, she's just righting a wrong that she had been complicit in perpetuating from the start. Sue knows she had been agnostic for far too long and she had nothing to lose now by showing she had faith. It's a feeling that she misses and now that she's experienced it, she understands she can't ignore it anymore.

"Keep the camera on them. No matter what happens to the others, just keep sound and picture live. No matter what occurs." She can see fear in the eyes of her colleagues. And for once, she holds her breath, not really sure how they will respond. It was worth the shot and she wouldn't change her mind even when she sees the Head Peacekeeper shake his head and take out his communication device.

And she can't help but smile, a full-blown grin when she sees the other Gamemakers adjust the cameras, some nodding at her while others keeping the heads down but still accepting her instructions. She feels a bit more emboldened as she turns to the man talking into his device. "Put down that damn phone. He's going to get the show he wants, the highest ratings in the history of the Games. He damn well knows ratings that there's nothing more important than that."

She does not show her surprise when he listens to her, turning to the other guards and ordering them to leave. Sue knows she hasn't won and probably wouldn't live to see the sun rise tomorrow. But at least she knows that no matter what, Quinn and Rachel will get the ending they deserved.

#$#$#$#$#

The anguished scream she releases cannot even begin to reflect the level of immense fear that hits her when she sees Dave tackled by Rachel, his knife going into her side. She scrambles to her feet but Sam is faster as he joins in the fray.

Quinn does not hesitate as she too rushes forward, two things on her mind. All she knows is she needs this to end and she has to get to Rachel at all costs. She sees Sam also trying to protect Rachel as Dave's knife cuts his free arm.

She takes her sword back from Azimio's dead body before barreling forward, the hilt firmly held in her hands as she launches it into Dave's shoulder. Her attention split between him and Rachel as she tries to make eye contact, needing to see brown eyes.

Dave does not give up as he continues to attack, slashing with his own weapon, drawing more blood from Rachel and Sam. Quinn hears Rachel hiss in pain and it spurs her on as she grabs hold of the brunette, pulling her up and putting her own body in front of her, the sword in her hand still embedded in Dave.

Sam slumps forward, on top of Dave who struggles to get to his feet, his hand finally ripping the weapon away from Quinn as she stumbles back into Rachel. All Quinn sees is blood everywhere, the grass stained red and all of them pale from the loss. It's only a matter of time before they fall and all Quinn can pray for is that Dave won't outlive them.

She sees him get to his feet unsteadily, pushing Sam's inert body aside before locking eyes with her. That look no longer scaring her as she realizes that Rachel's also lying motionless by her feet, blood soaking through the side of her shirt, her hands cut and bleeding. As much as she wants to bend down and check on Rachel, she knows she just needs to kill Dave first. There hadn't been a shot, which meant for the time being, both Sam and Rachel were hanging on and still alive.

Quinn does not have a weapon but it won't stop her even as she sees that Dave still has his. He's wary of her though as holds his ground, waiting for her to make her move. She considers running at him, taking him down and hopefully disarming him if she got lucky but in the end, all she really had to do was wait and hold his attention.

The sword goes through Dave from his back again taking him by surprise as he looks down to see it sticking out of his chest. He has assumed Sam was near death and realizes too late that he should have waited for the shot.

Dave finally keels over, his heart stopping before his body hits the ground, the shot signifying his death like music to Sam's ears. He falls to his knees next to the body, so tired and almost spent but he does stop as he drags himself towards Quinn and Rachel. He sees Quinn gather Rachel in her arms; her voice low as she chokes back tears and tries to revive her.

"We did it. He's dead Rachel. Please just stay with me. Please." Quinn feels Rachel's blood coating her as she holds Rachel's hands in hers. She hears Rachel cough as blood spurts out of her mouth and Quinn knows that there are no more miracles for her and all she can do is be there for Rachel now and follow her as soon as she could.

"Hey, I'm here,ok?" She tries to smile even if her heart is breaking into a million pieces at the thought of Rachel dying in her arms. Quinn can't keep her sob in when she sees Rachel also struggling to return her smile.

"I wish you could see the sea where I live. At this time of day, the sun reflects over the water and it sparkles so bright. Only it's not as beautiful as your smile or as bright as your eyes." Quinn knows she's rambling but it's the only thing she can think of to try and keep Rachel with her. "Stay with me. I'm going to tell you about the sea and the house I grew up in. And all my dreams when I was little. You see the one that I thought would never come through...it did. I found you.. Rachel, please...don't leave me."

"I'm sorry.." Rachel wants to say so much but she knows she has so little time left. The wound on her side already numb and she can't feel her legs either. The capsule already taking effect. She knows each second is so precious and she just wants to extract one last promise from Quinn.

"Close your...eyes for me..I want you..to..." She sees Quinn look at her. So much love in that look but overlaying it was fear and such sadness that Rachel knows she has caused. Still she pushes forward because she needs to finish this before she fades away. "Close them."

Quinn can't deny Rachel anything and even if all she wants to do is to look at her love she knows she will have to forgo it because Rachel was dying and she can't do anything except to listen to her. So she closes her eyes and feels the tears slip out.

"I..I want you to picture us...happy..alive. Can you do that?" Rachel tightens her hold of Quinn's hand as she sees the blonde nod at her words even as tears course down her face. "I love you. I will always love you. And even if I'm not going to be with you now, you're going to be ok. It's going to be difficult but you...you need..to promise..me that you'll stay...alive.."

She's having trouble finding the words, her arms now also numb such that she can't feel Quinn's hand in hers but she knows it's there and she still needs Quinn to make her that promise. "Quinn." She says the name so reverently, one word encapsulating everything to her and one word that highlights just how much she has loved. "Please...stay alive. Live for me...Be...happy..for me. Promise me?"

Quinn does not want to hear the words even if she knows it may be the last time she hears Rachel's voice. It's not a promise she can make and it's definitely not a promise she will keep. However, she can't lie to Rachel either.

"Don't ask me to promise you that. I..can't" Her words heavy with anguish. "You just can't die." She stumbles over that one tiny word that has the power to decimate her. "You can't leave me and expect me not to.."

Rachel knows she's fading fast and hopes her words will get through to Quinn. "Sometimes dying is necessary to live."

The shot echoes around them and Quinn does not hear it nor does she react when she feels Sam tugging on her arm. She only reacts when they come for Rachel's body, her grip never lessening, her sword holding them at bay.

The gas released finally knocking her out but even then, her hand had still been holding on to Rachel's such that the Peacekeepers had to break Quinn's fingers in order to take Rachel's body away.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

There's a popular song that says you can buy anything in the Capitol as long as you have enough money. The most commonly asked for items being Youth and Love. All synthetic of course and never everlasting but still good enough to cost a fortune and keep people relatively happy.

Shelby knows of most of it and what she didn't know, she traded for so finding out she could buy Death or a facsimile of it was not impossible, just very very expensive. But Rachel was worth everything she had. It was untested though, developed in a lab and never used until she had asked for it.

The capsule she inserted into her daughter's hand could simulate death, stopping the victim's heart for a few minutes. Enough to fool the tracker and hopefully enough to get Rachel out if it worked.

When she had seen the bond develop between her daughter and Quinn, she knew that Quinn would willingly take the capsule and let Rachel win. Her plan based on conjecture and hope, the outcome left to fate as she looks at the TV.

She flinches when she sees the knife enter Rachel's body but does not shut her eyes just in case. The fight so short and violent but she focuses on it. And in the end, Shelby sees Rachel bite down on her hand as she goes down. Rachel had been seriously hurt before she had taken the pill and Shelby knows that there was a good chance that her daughter would be truly dead.

However, to Shelby it's still indication enough such that she rushes out of her apartment, dialing Santana's number  and praying for one last miracle.

**End Part 19**


	20. The End

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**The End**

**Chapter XX**

Shelby runs through the complex, ignoring the glaring stares of her fellow Capitol citizens. Even then, she sees some of them milling about, still staring at the screens as if expecting something different from what had just occurred.

She hears the whispers in uncertain tones and it throws her but she does not stop as she pushes through the throng to get to her daughter. It's only when she sees some of them openly crying, their faces etched with sadness that she understands that she is not the only one who will mourn.

It's not comforting though to know that there was a distinct possibility that her brave beautiful girl was no longer part of this world. Knowing that she made a difference and touched the lives of undeserving Capitol citizens would never make up for losing her.

She maneuvers through the maze of passages to get to the room and its colder than she remembers although she does not feel anything except heart pounding fear when all she sees are two bodies laid out but still covered with the white sheets.

The Peacekeeper in the room turns at her entry and she has to hold herself back even if she knows each second matters to Rachel. "Where is the Tribute Champion, Shannon Beiste?" Shelby's voice has the haughty tone of a Capital citizen. A mix of disdain and boredom that she knows she will never feel comfortable with again.

It does its job though as she sees him flinch at her words before answering, "She's on her way...I..." His eyes dart about, unable to meet her glare, "I was told to bring the bodies here and wait for her."

She can't stop herself from asking though, "There were three...bodies. Three deaths." Shelby sees him nod at her words only to have her heart clench when he finally answers her.

"Yes." He answers her but does not give her the answer she needs. So when Shannon walks in, her face passive but Shelby can detect a hint of apprehension in her eyes, her fear ratchets upwards significantly.

She does not care about her own survival or future as she rushes forward and pulls the sheets covering the two bodies. Shelby had steeled herself to not expecting to see her daughter beneath the sheet.

However, it still hits her that Rachel's truly gone, not only possibly dead but now also missing when all she sees at the bodies of the two boys. "Where's Rachel Berry. her.. Body..I..." She's trying to talk through her tears and can see the Peacekeeper looking more and more suspicious but she does not care any longer.

She feels Shannon's arms pulling her close and she tries to resist but the touch is at least comforting even if she still feels so damn cold. She had done everything she could but it wasn't good enough as she realizes that her daughter was not there.

"Have faith." The words are whisper soft and Shelby thinks she's imagined them but when she looks up through her tears, she sees Shannon nod at her but nothing else is said such that she believes all of it was just in her head.

However, her eyes glance at the tables and when she's confronted with the bodies of Dave Karofsky and Azimio Adams, she knows that like them, Rachel was also dead. Intellectually, Shelby knows that they were victims of the Capitol as much as Rachel was. However, seeing the body of the boy who in effect killed her daughter is too much and she finally pushes Shannon away and rushes out.

She sees her team in the dressing room, waiting for her and hoping for news. The monitors are still broadcasting but at least the sound is low as Shelby sees her friends pace back and forth only stopping when she enters. Shelby does not know what to say so she shakes her head and Emma's cries cut at her as does Santana's set jaw. All of them as invested in the outcome as she was even if they didn't have any linkage to Rachel except for hers.

Mercedes's arms holding on to her just before her legs give out and she surrenders to her worse fears. "She's gone. My baby's really gone." The words tumble out as they surround her, trying to offer comfort even if nothing can replace the death of a loved one.

"Will's dead." Santana wishes she didn't have to bring more bad news as she sees Emma and Shelby physically react to her words, "there's a rumor that he stopped one of the tributes by triggering the tracker."

Shelby had seen Azimio's death and now realizes that even Will had tried to help out and had died for it. So much sacrifice and all for nothing. The Games were still being broadcasted and Shelby wished she could turn it all off only she knows that her daughter had died so that Quinn could live and she needed to watch that occur.

The low sound coming from the monitors show a tired Sue Sylvester in the Games room, Kurt holding a microphone to her as he tries to do one of the last interviews before the end. It's obvious that Kurt does not expect the answer even as he asks the question.

"So, Sue, now that we're down to the final two, can you tell us who you think should win the Games?" He had for a time thought that these Games would have been so different especially if the final two turned out to be Rachel and Quinn.

"Rachel Berry." Her words are clipped as she takes in his surprised expression before he scrambles to try and salvage the interview.

"Yes...well, that would have been something although with her death, we're down to Sam and Quinn." his voice at least regretful but he still pushes. "So what would you want our viewers to know most about these Games and about the upcoming winner?"

"You know, sometimes winning isn't everything. In fact, sometimes believing in something is more important and maybe faith is what we all should have." It's not the usual cryptic and convoluted Sue Sylvester response. And Kurt knows that somehow there is a message in her ramblings so he nods and signs off.

Sue's lived in a world of secrets and lies for so long such that she knows she would never be able to speak the whole truth. It was as much about protecting herself as it was preparing for the future where she could just fade away and finally acknowledge and be with Jean. Her plans so intricate and all laid out. All she wanted was to produce the best Games she could. But she never did take into account what it would cost her to do it and the feeling like she had to also make amends for causing so many deaths albeit indirectly.

Sue knows she can't just walk away anymore and the President would want his own pound of flesh form all that she had allowed to happen in these Games. It was worth the price to know that what she had allowed to be shown would make a difference. Accepting that she won't see Jean ever again is difficult but at least she knows that the person she sent in her stead is so much better.

#$#$#$#$#$

Sam remembers not crying the night his father died. It wasn't that he couldn't shed tears but just that he needed to appear strong. Adding to that, he knew deep down, that in the end his father had gone to a better place and he would have to assume the burden of looking out for his family. That thought alone already a burden and when he had been chosen for the Games, he knew tears were still useless and all he had was his promise to keep.

Right now though, all the impotent rage at how unfair everything has been along with the useless knowledge that his best just wasn't good enough. All of it weighing down and he knows he can cry now. Looking at Quinn's curled up form on the ground, her broken hand still stretched out as if Rachel was still there connected to her. It was heartbreaking and he wishes for just a bit more time for her to remain unconscious and unknowing.

He had seen her reaction when they had come to take Rachel away, the shell-shocked look, her hope vanishing as soon as the shot was heard but still wanting to hold onto the only truth she knew. It was painful to watch. Even more so than his injuries.

Sam knows he does not have a lot of time left either. The amount of blood shed already taking it's toll such that he can no longer feel the heat of the sun even though he knows its noontime and it's reached it's apex. He hears Quinn stir and steels himself for her reaction when it hits her that Rachel is truly gone.

Sam sees hazel eyes blink open, hazily taking him in and then glancing at her open hand, her broken fingers splayed on the grass and Rachel no where to be found. He hears her anguish as much as he sees it in her crumpled features. That keening wail so heart rendering that he cannot even begin to comprehend the depth of her feelings really.

"I'm sorry." His apology does not go unnoticed even if he can see Quinn fall apart in front of him. She acknowledges his words as her good hand reaches out to hold his. And he embraces her as much as he can, trying to hold her together even if he knows it's a losing battle as she breaks apart, shaking so hard and that continuous wail erupting from within as she refuses to accept that Rachel is gone.

He holds her, not saying anything as he too begins to fade and he can tell when she realizes his time is also diminishing as he hears her voice, tentative and small, "Please don't leave me." If he could, he would acquiesce with all his being, staying with her for as long as she wanted. Sam realizes that he does love her. Maybe not with the burning passion Rachel had shown or even the familial love he had for Stacie or Stevie. His love for her was different.

It stemmed from recognizing someone so special, so different and unique. Someone who made the world better by making a difference both small and large. He loved Quinn because a world with her in it meant that his family, his mom and brother and sister had a chance. Even if the chance was infinitesimal in the scheme of things, it was still a chance nonetheless.

"You have to win this." She shakes her head at his words, not accepting them, her jaw set so tight he can hear her teeth grinding down. There's this look in her eyes that he's never seen from her but recognizes from his mom. It's a look of defeat and utter resignation.

It does not sit well with him at all because he knows in his heart that these Games have shown something different to the people out there. Even if not everything had been shown, he knows even a glimpse of it would resonate with so many people.

Finn sacrificing himself, Brittany's caring nature and amazing spirit and Rachel and Quinn's love that just shone through even when they tried to shy away from it. However, adding to that was the strength of character they showed. Rachel always singing that song every chance she got to Quinn always fighting and never giving up despite the odds against them.

So he just cannot let her give up now, not when he knows she is a symbol for the Districts. Not a symbol of revolt but a symbol of hope. A beacon for all to see and to realize that they were not alone and things were not hopeless.

It could not change their lot in life right now but he's sure that it would allow them to endure what was to come and eventually, he accepts that things would change.

Rachel wants...wanted you to win this. She sac.." He stops himself because he can see the physical effects of his words on Quinn. Just using her name was so difficult but enunciating out loud that Rachel had died in her stead was just too cruel even if it was technically true.

"The hardest thing you will ever have to do is yet to be accomplished." he sees incredulity in her expression at his words but at least he has her attention. Sam had noted her hand inching towards the discarded knife on the ground and can imagine what she wants to do with it.

"Quinn." Sam says her name solemnly, letting it roll off his tongue and hoping she really listens to him and not just hear his voice. "Live for me. Live for all of us. You have to stay alive for Finn and Brittany, for Lucio, Abby and all of those people back home and in all the Districts. Stacie needs you."

"She needs you, she needs her brother." Quinn's resigned voice is so soft that Sam has to strain to hear it and when he does, his own resolve strengthens and he knows he really does have to invoke Rachel's name and memory. He does not want to hurt Quinn more but he needs her to want to live.

"Please Quinn, please don't let her death be in vain. You are the only one that can ensure her legacy lives on. You can make a difference. It hurts...I know it hurts..." His voice is strong despite his vision dimming and he finally sees a glimmer of a difference in Quinn's demeanor and hopes to God that he's getting through and making a difference.

"You're going to need to be strong and survive the hurt, knowing it may never go away but always remembering the girl who saved you so that you could live." He hears her sobs again but can distinguish the difference from before.

Quinn's arms now securely around him and he knows he can finally rest because he has finally fulfilled his promise. His breaths slow down and he does not fight against the coldness he feels seeping into his bones.

He thinks he may be hallucinating when he hear that song again. The one Rachel had sung that first night they had been stranded on opposite sides of bank. Quinn's voice so different from Rachel's but still suited to the song. Sam realizes it's really not intonation but passion that makes the song special.

Rachel and Quinn both sharing a belief and he did too. A belief in love and faith and knowing that for every hurt or grievous wrong, somewhere, somehow, there had to be a balance if you just had faith and believed.

The last shot echoing around her and all Quinn feels is this deep ache in her heart and the feeling like she's empty inside and nothing will ever fill the void within.

She hears the aircraft in the distance and knows its over and she's won. The prize enough to ensure some respite for her District and a chance for Sam's family to survive. Keeping her promise to her father does not make her feel any better until she remembers her mother and the words she had uttered.

Quinn does not have time to assimilate anything as she sees the gas again release and welcomes the oblivion it offers, wishing that it would allow her to join Rachel even if the words of Sam and her mother still continue to anchor her to this cruel world.

#$#$#$#$#$

She swims to consciousness with no anchor to her past or context to her present, just blinking open her eyes as she looks into her potential future. She's on a narrow bed, the room is sparse and light comes from the one window although it too high for her to see out of. She knows she's hurt, maybe grievously so as her hand goes to her side and feels the wound there.

What frightens her is not the unfamiliarity of her surroundings or the fact that she is in pain but the knowledge that she has no sense of self. All she knows is she's alive but not how or why or who she is. She feels like she has be severed from something, her tether no longer there and though she is living, she has no life.

"Hello, Rachel." The voice belongs to a woman, who enters the room carrying a small tray. She sets it down by the bed and takes a seat in the chair next to it. "My name is Jean." the cadence of her voice is a bit off as is her appearance but all of it is secondary to the fear she feels within.

"I...where am I...Who am I?" her own voice is bordering frantic when she catches the name the woman had used for her but does not recognize it. The woman herself is different, her eyes are slanted and nasal bridge pushed in. However, her eyes are kindly and her smile at least comforting even if she feels completely alone.

Jean had lived most of her life alone, bound to her small house in the outskirts of the district and relying on the kindness of a few citizens who knew of her existence. Her only other external link was the old TV downstairs. Seeing her sister on it every now and then gave her hope that maybe someday, they could be together again. However, when the girl had been deposited at her doorstep, a note from Sue tucked in next to her, she intrinsically knew that she wouldn't see Sue again, not even on TV. The note had been brief, a declaration of her love always and letting her know that she was always the stronger one between the two of them.

She recognizes the girl though, having seen her fight for her life for the past week but more than that, she understands that somehow she needed to take care of her, ensure she survived and hopefully help her. It was the purpose she had been looking for all her life. And she's glad Sue had finally made her choice.

Jean loved the fairy tales that Sue had read to her growing up. Of princes and princesses, true love and sacrifice. It was better than her life even though she knew she was still luckier than most. Others like her had been killed because they were deemed unworthy but banishment was not that bad.

She had her books and the occasional secret message from her sister and now, after all this while, she finally has someone she can help. "Your name is Rachel Berry and you're hurt. There's a doctor here in the District and later, I'll get him to come and treat you." The girl looks at her, her eyes wide and showing fear even as her hand reaches out, wanting some contact.

Jean smiles as she takes it. "I know you're frightened but you just need to get better and have faith. Can you do that?" the girl looks solemn as she nods, her predicament taking its toll as her eyelids flutter shut, heavy and tired as she slips into sleep once again.

Jean does not leave her house until the sun sets, using the cover of darkness to hide from the Peacekeepers on their patrols. It's a long trek to the doctor's house but she knows where it is, having traverse the distance a few times before for her own medication and once when Shannon had been ill with the fever and she was the only one who knew.

There's a light at the door and she hopes it's as welcoming as it looks. A number of the citizens shun her for various reasons, frightened of her differences and wary of her appearance. Dr Fabray had only looked at her ability to pay for his services and for that she had always been grateful.

She truly believes in true love and hope and what she had seen on the screen between the girl currently in her house and the doctor's daughter was something so special. It was like the stories she had read and in all of them, there was always heartache and suffering but in the end, there was the happy ending.

She hopes she has a hand in that as she knocks on the door and waits. Her words tumbling out as soon as it opens. "Please come, bring your medicines, she needs your help. Please..."

He stares at her, bleary eyed and possibly drunk. Even mostly isolated, she had still heard the rumors of his propensity to drink and the resulting effects on his daughter. It's that one thought that finally stops her words because she does not know if he would help Rachel or hurt her further.

Jean bites down on her tongue, not saying more but keeping eye contact even as he stares her down. She's older than he is and has seen a lot even if she never understood most of it but what she does understand is fear and remorse and she thinks she sees that in his craggy features.

She hopes she's not wrong when he nods before going back into his house. When he emerges, she sees his bag in his hand but by his side, she sees a knife strapped there.

There's nothing else she can do except to pray that she's done the right thing in going to Quinn's father to help.

**End Part XX**


	21. The Beginning

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**The Beginning**

**Chapter XXI**

Quinn feels gutted, so empty inside and really just following instructions of the people around her even as her eyes desperately scans the room for something or someone familiar. She knows that they're helping her, healing her only she understands that nothing was ever going to make her whole again. She sits uncomfortably in the chair, not leaning back and her entire body so tense that every touch no matter how gentle just seems to hurt.

Quinn accepts that she's broken and lost and no matter what occurred for her in the future, she was always going to feel the gaping wound inside. Losing Rachel was something she had only contemplated in passing because she had always envisioned Rachel winning the Games and living her life and sharing her gift.

Except it didn't turn out that way and all she has left are those memories of making love under the stars and stolen kisses as night turned into day. Added together, they didn't even total a week but it would have to be enough to last her lifetime.

"This may scar but we'll try our best to make it almost invisible." The curly haired man talking to her sounds almost regretful but she cannot understand any of their emotions because her own is so overwhelming as it is. She looks down at the burn scars he is talking about and finally reacts as she shakes her head.

She can see he does not understand so she says the one word, "No." Her voice sounds rusty, hoarse and she can feel her throat is still raw from the screaming and crying she had done that last day.

By her count, more than a day has passed since she was retrieved from the Games and they're all working hard on making her presentable so that the Capitol can sell their winner and feel good about themselves. She feels like throwing up even if she knows her stomach is empty. So all she does is refuse his care.

"Leave the scar...please." Quinn's so scared of forgetting Rachel and knows that she will need all of it to remind her of the girl she fell in love with. The girl who saved her life literally and made her believe that life was worth living.

She gets that she needs to live it now, her promise to Rachel and Sam weighing so heavy on her. "It's all I have...I need it to remember everything, to remember her." Her voice goes soft even as she squeezes her eyes shut, trying so hard to conjure an image of Rachel, happy and 's still staring at the scars on her hands when she hears the words.

"Thank you."

Quinn looks up, blinking as she thinks she sees Rachel but the woman is older and she finally places her as the Head Stylist. She does not understand why she's earned thanks and does not really care except the woman has tears in her eyes and Quinn can see that she's in pain, maybe not physical but is the closet manifestation to what she herself was feeling.

"Thank you for looking out for Rachel and most of all, thank you for loving her." Shelby envelops Quinn in a hug as she says the words. The sadness lining the blonde's face is palpable but the way her eyes reflected her pain was difficult to look at unless you were feeling something similar. Perhaps not the same level by any means but even a tenth of it was so much to bear that all Shelby feels is constant pain.

Quinn holds all of it in, she's so afraid that if she allows even an iota of all her emotions to surface, she won't be able to face a future without Rachel and she would renege on her promise. Sam had truly given his life for her and Rachel and to not try and honour his memory was also a sin in her mind.

So even if she derived comfort from the hug and Shelby's words, she can't say anything in return except to nod her head and hold Shelby close for that small amount of time because somehow Rachel had touched her life and her death affected Shelby significantly.

It's then that she spots someone else she recognises from before and finally understands the impetus to not speak. Quinn sees Shannon walking towards her and though she knows she will never feel whole again, she at least understands that she has someone who knows what she feels like and what she had endured.

The look Shannon gives her and the way she finally holds Quinn's hand is enough acknowledgment for Quinn to at least understands that she can get through the next few days. So she closes her eyes and leans back, not comfortable but not fighting against the help as much anymore.

The softest of whispered words washing over her that shes's unsure of their origin even if they give her hope. "Have faith."

#$#$#$#$#$

"She needs to rest and take these if her pain flares up." He hands Jean the vial and a syringe. He's giving her the medicines he usually reserves for the Mayor and his family. Russell is not sure if its guilt that's driving him or the fact that he views her survival as a miracle only his religion could explain.

When he had first seen her her sleeping on the narrow cot, he was struck by a visceral reaction of pure unadulterated fear. He had watched the Games until the end and knew that Quinn had won. Only seeing this girl, hurt but still very much alive made him question if his daughter was really the one who had perished.

She had opened her eyes then, giving him a look of that mirrored his own in that he could tell she was fearful of him. He had stood over over, bag in hand but it was his knife that drew her attention.

Jean had sensed the unease and had stood in front on him, hands on hip, demanding that he stay true to his oath. Despite her disability, she was a force to be reckoned with, always speaking her mind and never paying the rest of the citizens much heed because they underestimated and ignored her.

And if he were the man he had been a month ago, he would have let his fear get the better of him, pushing pass Jean and hurting Rachel. Only all he can recall of the Games was the way this petite girl had protected his daughter and in the end, how she had rushed in without any thought of her own safety to step between that hulk of a boy tribute and Quinn, who had been bound and hurt.

For all intents and purposes, Rachel Berry had given her life for his daughter and he knows he will do everything in his power now, to save her. He's examined her and can tell that the wound is still raw and infection has set in. And he knows she will most probably die so all he can can offer would be his prayers.

"You have to make sure that the wound is clean and monitor her. Infection has set in and the medicine can help but she has to be strong enough to fight it on her own." His voice is partly resigned as he truly feels that her survival is really out of his hands and all he can do is ease her pain.

"She can die?" Jean looks worried and he tries to modulate his own voice even if he knows all he can really give her right now is his faith. He's surprised when she takes his hand even before he says the words.

"Yes but...maybe we could ..maybe we could pray." She looks at him, her eyes so clear that he cannot fault her wisdom even if he knows that she thinks by a different yardstick, she was probably more equipped here than he is.

She nods before bowing her head, his soft words somehow so clear in the small room. What is even more surprising is the way the girl's features even out, no longer marred with pain. And his voice is soothing, like a balm such that Jean also feels that things would work out.

Its only when he finishes does she again get that feeling of unease this time not by his actions but by his words, "If she survives this, No one must ever know she's here."

Jean does not acknowledge his words because she thinks that he does not mean exactly what he says but she also knows that correcting him may result in something worse. So she just turns back to look at Rachel, her hand unconsciously going to touch the girl's forehead and he doesn't wait for her to say anything else as he makes his exit.

#$#$#$#$#$

Quinn never pictured her return to District 4 because the second she had volunteered, she had made peace with saying goodbye and never seeing her father or the ocean ever again. The trip to the Capitol had been filled by Sam's voice, continuos and reassuring, talking about everything and anything.

As if he knew he needed to leave a part of himself with her to eventually take back. She remembers all of it, how he talked about hating the taste of fish because he caught them every day and how he loved music and their house filled with the voices of him and his dad when they sang, his mom smiling at their antics.

Quinn knows she needs to eventually tell all of it to Stevie and Stacie, including everything that Sam had done in the Games. How he had saved her not only with his actions but also with his words.

Only that's what she's missing currently. All the words stuck in her head and not able to come out at all. Finally completely understanding why Shannon has remained silent all those years. The journey back now silent and filled with such heavy memories.

Memories of sweet kisses and gentle caresses of words of love washing over her and that distinct knowledge that she will never be whole again.

Only one constant between the two trips was Shannon holding her hand such that when she steps out of the vehicle, she does not fall to her knees when she's hit with the finality of her situation; a life without Rachel and a future she's not sure she can face as she sees the mass of people before her.

The sound of all of them gathered as overwhelming as the feelings engulfing her. Calling her name, clapping and cheering so loudly. And then she spots them, her father looking haggard but more due to lack of sleep than filled with drink and Sam's family. His mother supported by her two remaining children.

She sees Mary clinging to them, her face not contorted in pain and Quinn's unsure until she sees Mary's hand move, her fingers forming such a familiar sign as the hand finally rest across her heart.

Quinn stares at her and slowly, the sound dims as her father and all the others there, numbering in the thousands, form that sign that symbolises so much more now than it did it the past.

Finally, silence reigns and all Quinn can do to acknowledge them is to nod before she walks to her father and feels him arms wrap around her. The hug a long time coming and she sinks into it such that she knows he's supporting most of her weight. Her tears come fast and furious and he understands as he carries her back to their house.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

She can't sleep although she has managed to rest such that it's not tiring to carry out a conversation with Jean or to walk a bit around the small house, stopping every now and then to look at the framed photographs and mementos scattered around, listening to Jean's memories in hope of of salvaging her own.

Even her name is so unfamiliar such that she has to repeat it in her head, 'Rachel, Rachel, Rachel' like a mantra and she wishes she could hear it fall from the lips of someone else besides Jean.

Despite her strange speech and appearance, Rachel did trust her and knows that she has been looked after in the best possible way. "Why am I here?" it's a question she's been asking each day since she regained consciousness.

And each of the past twenty three days had netted her the same answer. She sees Jean turn to look at her and the words are familiar even if they bring no comfort. "To heal, to get better and to live."

And deep down she knows that while she may be healing, her wound no longer infected, she didn't feel at all connected to anything. The only time she even felt remotely right was when Jean held her hand but even then she knows intrinsically that she's missing something.

"Can I go outside?" This question is new and catches Jean by surprise even as she shakes her head. Peacekeepers still abound, actually moreso than before as the tribute champion had arrived home a few weeks ago. The fact that they stayed had made her wary.

She can see them patrolling the perimeter of her land and knows that it's only a matter of time before they encroach it and when that happens, she cannot let them see the girl.

"Tonight, maybe." the sliver of the crescent moon enough of a mask for them. "We could go and look at the sea." Jean's back is to Rachel such that she does not catch the frisson of recognition on the girl's face.

The word reverberating in her mind, the voice saying it different, pleading and thick with tears. "The sea...it sparkles." the words come unbidden but the feeling of familiarity vanishes and all she's left with is that feeling of being untethered and lost.

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$

She's not eating and barely taking care of herself and Russell knows exactly what he can do to change it. Except it's not something that he can do now as he looks at the Peacekeepers standing outside his house. He's sure that when Shannon had won, they never stayed more than a few days, leaving the local battalion to carry on.

This time, they had accompanied his daughter back and remained in the village even after a month. He can see them watching his daughter. Not caring that she was wasting away but just watching her as if expecting her to do something or worse yet expecting something to occur. And he knows that somehow they suspect something about Quinn and maybe Rachel and for that he knows he can not tell her of the other girl.

He's heard their talk and fuelled it by buying them drinks. So he knows that they're here to keep an eye out. To ensure that the tribute champion does nothing out of turn that could besmirch the Games or worst yet ignite unrest.

He holds his tongue when he hears them laugh at her muteness and that of the previous champion, joking that it must be the salt air of the District. Russell knows they will leave eventually and prays that his daughter hangs on until then.

"There's soup and some bread, freshly baked." She continues to stare out the window, not acknowledging his words except with a tiny shake of her head. And he has to steel himself when she does turn around, the hazel of her eyes so piercing and so painful to see.

He wants to hear her voice and misses it so much but he cannot push her either so he speaks instead. "It felt like the end of the world for me." His voice even but filled with such emotion as everything that he's been holding back all her life finally leaks out. "Losing her even before we had a chance to live."

He knows she sees the parallel here and wonders if she will take it to the conclusion he had. He never had anyone to steer him away and realises that he can at least help her see more clearly so he walks towards the cupboard to the side and grabs the three bottles of white liquor he has there. Her eyes now on the bottles and he can see the desperation mirrored back.

How she's thinking about blotting out the pain, not by ending anything because she had made a promise but maybe she could dull it. Only he needs her to understand that she's stronger than he ever was as he flings the bottles against the wall, the liquor splashing back on him.

"I missed her so much that I forgot that I had you and you needed me to be present. Drinking let me forget the pain but it made me forget her and what she wanted for you, how she loved you." He sees the tears now and the way her her hands form into fists.

Russell holds his breath, hoping he had gotten through only she remains silent and turns back to the window. And he understands that maybe he will never be able to fix her even if he knows someone who can.

#$#$#$#$#$#$#

"The Peacekeepers are leaving today." Jean sounds relieved and Rachel can only nod at her words, not really understanding their threat but taking her cue from Jean. It's been almost two months and each day she feels the walls closing in but she also does not have any point of context that her life had been better.

Her injuries and scars point to a difficult life, one she thinks she's maybe better off not remembering even if late at night just as she's about to drift off, she thinks of soft hands and sweet words. Rachel knows its most probably her desperate need to connect to something or someone. To pretend that she matters and maybe somewhere out there she may have mattered to someone as well.

"So I could go out later, see the ocean like you said." Her voice sounds hopeful and when she sees Jean smile and nod, she feels that her life was at least starting again.

Jean is still cautious such that they don't venture out until its just before sunrise, their soft footfalls in the dewy grass creates a rhythm that Rachel feels like singing to.

Like everything else to her, it's a new feeling that she hopes to explore later, not sure if her voice is any good but needing to at least put word to song. She smells the water before she sees it, cool, wet and salty.

She hears the crashing of the waves even as her feet scramble up the embankment, anxious to catch her first glimpse. And when she does, it astounds her. The vastness of it, the way the horizon stretches so far and the way the water sparkles as it catches the first rays of the sun.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

Quinn cuts through the water easily, her strong strokes bringing her parallel to shore and allowing her to see the fishing boats make their way out to sea. The scars on her hands no longer hurting in the sea water but even when they did, she didn't let that stop her.

The time in the water spent to remember who is she and what she has lost, to give thanks to those who sacrificed for her and who sacrificed their lives such that that she could live. She swims because it's a solitary exercise that highlights she will always be alone.

The beaches almost always empty except for the fishermen who only nod in her direction now, conscious that she wouldn't speak back even if spoken to. It's no different this morning as she sees the last boat leave and waves them off.

The shore seemingly so close and just two people walking along the dunes. It's an idyllic view that belies the fact that she still feels so lost. Quinn knows that she's losing herself bit by bit starting with her voice and soon, everything that she used to be will disappear.

She's not afraid of dying but she knows that she is still so damn afraid of living because she has lost so much. The rip current catching her by surprise that she forgets to take a breath as a wave crashes over her pulling her downwards in its undertow.

The water rushing into her lungs so quickly that she almost panics. Only she's been swimming most of her life and knows to let the water guide her even of she understands that she could also just let go.

The choice is there for her and as her head breaks above the wave, she makes it as she takes a deep breath before she feels herself being pulled under yet again. The will to live still burning within her. The need to ensure that all the deaths she had witnessed had a witness even if they no longer had a voice.

Quinn knows she can't speak for them, her words forever buried deep within but at least her presence will always be a reminder of their sacrifice. She breaks the surface again and continues to swim parallel to the shore, her arms heavy with exertion and her chest tight from the water within and without.

The shore even closer now but she knows there's a chance she won't make it as she's pulled under again.

#$#$#$#$#$#$#

Jean sees the swimmer in the distance and knows that the time has finally come as she glances at Rachel. The girl no longer feverish or sick even if she had lost so much weight that her cheeks are hollow and her skin pale.

"Do you know how to swim?" Rachel's question catching her by surprise and she just nods before pointing out the swimmer in the sea.

"Not as good as she can but the first time I saw all this, I promised myself I would swim in it eventually." They're walking in parallel to the swimmer and Jean knows that their path will intersect.

"Something is wrong." Rachel's voice is anxious as she points towards the swimmer who disappears beneath the swells.

Jean does not wait as she rushes into the surf swimming out, thankful that Quinn had managed to swim back before being pulled under. She reaches Quinn and pulls her towards the shore, Rachel actually following her such that she helps drag the girl out.

Quinn's barely conscious when they place her on the sand and it's only when Rachel finally gets a good look of the girl they had saved does all of her memories come flooding back as she utters that one name that has always been her anchor.

"Quinn"

**End Part XXI**


	22. Epilogue : Legend Has It

 

**The 19th Hunger Games - You Reap What You Sow**

**Epilogue : Legend Has It**

**Chapter XXII**

_**The Present** _

The power of a love story is many fold; especially one steeped in the lore of the Games. Passed down from person to person in the different Districts, each time told just a bit differently but the gist of it still remaining. The story of the 19th Hunger Games and the secret love between two tributes.

How sacrifices were made and lives were lost, how love remained constant and true and how in the end a tribute champion died of a broken heart, drowned in the sea, her body never found.

District 4 had started out so strong. Shannon winning the first ever Games and Mags doing it nine years later and then Quinn, winning ten years on from that. Bringing hope to their District and food and supplies for all.

Strong women who managed to survive the worse of circumstances and win but not without sacrifices and damages unto themselves. Shannon and Quinn who chose silence and Mags who never ventured out until much later on when there were no other people who could help Finnick Odair, barely fourteen and chosen for the 65th Games. Quinn Fabray having died the year she won and Shannon Beiste, dying of a heart attack after seeing her two tributes cut down in the 64th Games.

This particular story often dredged up as the day of the Reaping approaches. Used in so many different ways; as a tale of hope in other Districts where a volunteer can win in the end and a tale of despair in District 4 where even winning did not bring with it any peace.

While in the Capitol, it is long forgotten except to a few people; a stylist whose mother was one, his name Cinna and hers had been Santana. The story told to him since birth. Each year, a candle lit to remember a love so strong that it spanned generations and taught him to believe and recognise it if he ever saw it again.

The story kept most alive in District 13 due to two of its occupants there who arrived more than half a century ago. Tired and almost spent, hoping to find refuge and finally live their lives together. Finding a colony deep underground whose own story was just as strong and legendary.

A love story so unique that it was the kindling the Districts needed, waiting for the spark to light it and make history burn. A spark that took fifty five years to emerge but when it did, only a few managed to remember the first love story of the Games although in the end the odds were finally in all their favor.

_**The Past** _

Hiram reads the note from his daughter, with tears in his eyes, barely choking back sobs such that LeRoy has to hold him before he falls to the ground. The words on the pages so visceral and raw such that each one grabs at him, making him wonder if it was all worth it but in the end knowing that there really was no other way.

He can't bring himself to burn the pages instead, watching from the doorway as LeRoy bends down and places them in the fireplace, the thin paper catching fire, leaving ashes and only memories behind.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

Shelby had hoped and wished but to get actual confirmation that Rachel was alive was something she cherished and carried with her always. Knowing she couldn't keep the short letter in any form but carrying the knowledge with her until the end.

The news had come just as she had lost her way and all her faith. The written words on the paper giving her a picture in her head of her daughter smiling and alive, standing hand in hand next to her love. Looking happy at long last, free of pain and suffering.

#$#$#$#$#$#$#

Russell somehow knows what the letter is about even before opening it. He does not recognise the delicate handwriting but understands that it's from the girl that he hopes will love his daughter until the end of time.

He wishes for so many things but most of all, he wishes that he could have at least said goodbye to Quinn. However he knows that her 'death' had to look as realistic as possible, the news meant to elicit surprise and sadness from him.

His tears had been real when the Peacekeeper and Captain of the fishing vessel told him of seeing Quinn go under and not resurface. He will continue to pray that they're finally happy and that the both of them would find it in their hearts to eventually forgive him all his past transgressions.

#$#$#$#$#$#$

The first night they spend together, there are no words. Quinn still silent because she cannot tell reality from her dreams any more. Seeing Rachel alive staring at her had been almost too overwhelming but the first kiss bestowed made her want to believe in the lie.

Rachel holding her hand and leading her to Jean's house. The older woman smiling kindly as she hugged them both and told them she would stay with Shannon down the road.

The silence allowing them to acknowledge their bond, validate each other's existence and reinforce their commitment. Knowing all the time it had taken and all the difficulties they had traversed to get to this point.

Exploring each other's bodies, each scar a memory so visceral that tears flow and kisses make even the memory of pain vanish into the ether. Each touch a gift and each caress returned many fold.

Satisfying a need so primal that time is relative as the two girls commit to each other in all ways. The silence finally broken with five words whispered in the dark and cementing their love forever.

"I will always love you."

#$#$#$#$#$

Rachel writes the letters as Quinn stares at her profile, her strong nose and gentle curve of her neck eliciting such fervent feelings within. She reaches out then, to touch Rachel, her hand tracing the contours of her face. Needing that certainty that Rachel is truly alive and they had both somehow survived the Games.

Her religion could partly explain the divine intervention but it's faith that made it all possible. Faith in each other and faith that their love was strong enough to survive even death.

"They may not get them." still the voice of reason, Quinn tries to temper her words with a kiss to Rachel's brow. "But I pray that they do." The way Rachel arches her head backwards as she bends down, fitting each other, completing each other as they kiss yet again.

Quinn's arms going around her, making her feel so safe and loved and unafraid of what Quinn will say next because they've been having this conversation for days now.

"We can't stay here either."

Quinn still so afraid that she will be discovered and still wracked with guilt that she could walk free but Rachel would have to hide for the rest of her life. Her skin never recovering that healthy caramel glow, not able to walk in the sunlight or join her for a swim in the sea unless under the cover of darkness.

"You're tribute champion. You have your duty to the others that will be chosen and your father..." Rachel trails off when she sees Quinn arch that eyebrow. It's sexy as hell and completely distracting and she knows Quinn is using it to deflect her train of thought.

She doesn't get angry though as she has a few tricks of her own. Her tongue slowly wetting her lips such that she can see Quinn's eyes lower to focus on her mouth. "Where would we go? Where could we go? At least...staying here means that you'll have your freedom." She bites her bottom lip as Quinn's hand reaches out for hers.

"Not at your expense." Quinn can see that Rachel's mind is as made up as hers is but she is nothing if not persistent especially since she does have a possible place in mind. "Do you know the history of Panem? What started the Dark Days of the uprising?"

Rachel nods, remembering not only the lessons at school but the reels of history they had to watch before each Reaping. Each year, updated with just a bit more information and each one highlighting how forgiving and kind the Capitol has been in allowing them to survive and just reiterating this punishment once a year.

"And do you know about District 13?" Quinn realises that it's a long shot, a fairy tale perhaps but giving them a sliver of a chance to be together in all ways.

This time she can see Rachel shuddering before she nods again, her voice recites the history that all of them had to memorise. "District 13 was destroyed, razed to the ground with dirty bombs. All its citizens condemned to death for inciting the uprising. So many dead, a lesson for those who would rebel, a district no more."

Quinn knows the words and had believed them to be true until she had visited Mags's house. Sitting around the table with Shannon there, three tribute champions trying to figure out how Quinn and Rachel could be together, Shannon furiously scribbling down idea after idea. Each one eventually discarded because it curtailed Rachel's freedom in one way or the other.

Until Shannon had written about the persistent rumours of the secret District. The one that had started the rebellion, leading the charge against the Capitol until all of a sudden they had stopped. No communication or direction, no more weapons or hope. The Capitol finally getting the upper hand and putting a stop to the civil war. Rebel leaders executed, each District completely cut off from the others and initiating the start of their punishment to be carried out year after year.

Even Mags had chimed in, having heard the older Peacekeepers talking of that particular battle when she had been to the Capitol. How no one survived that particular battle on either side yet the story and pictures of District 13's destruction could still be obtained. Quinn tells them that she won't turn her back on her duty as Mentor even if it would hurt her irredeemably to witness more deaths.

Hearing Shannon's actual voice finally spurring her on to at least try.

_"Have faith and just go."_

The words still echoing in her mind as she looks at Rachel now. She knows it's a mad plan based on conjecture and hope but it meant that they could be together, it meant no hiding until dark. It meant freedom and Quinn knew in her heart that they needed to take the chance.

"What if it's still there. Not destroyed but just silenced?" She smiles when she sees Rachel trying her best not to look at her as if she's lost her mind. Regardless of everything that had occurred, she knows Rachel loves her and trusts her. And because of it, she would never judge her and above all, she would support her unconditionally.

"What if..." Quinn stops because what she is proposing is not easy and she finally understands that finding freedom for the both of them meant facing unknown dangers, journeying on the outskirts of the Districts in order to get to a place that no longer existed if all their history books were to be believed.

As always, it's the most difficult of choices to make, to stay and keep Rachel safe but trapped forever inside, never able to hold her hand in public or declare their love for each other except in secret. Or to brave the unknown for a chance at total freedom.

Rachel stares at Quinn and finally she gets it. Reading all the emotions that flit across that beautiful face and knowing that Quinn would sacrifice everything for her, never asking anything in return. Except right now, she knows that Quinn needs her to make the choice for them. To stay and be together or to leave together to start anew.

"Just ask me." Rachel smiles as she says the words, knowing that she's forever tied to Quinn and wanting to start their life together. She does not want to be the reason that Quinn leaves her home or turns her back on her duty as Mentor. Only that duty would come with too heavy a price, seeing other killed and never really being able to help.

But she sees the toll the Games has taken on Quinn, how the spectre of what had occurred in the arena haunts her every waking moment even now and the only thing holding it all at bay is having Rachel by her side. Except it's not something she can always do. However willing she is to take on whatever burden from Quinn, she can't because she's hampered by the fact that she's not supposed to be alive.

Rachel understands that they both need to start over, live their own lives because they had sacrificed enough for others. She sees Quinn still struggling and reaches out. A physical link that augments that intangible bond that they share. That touch that speaks volumes.

"Please run away with me." And when she finally hears the words, as always, Rachel seals the deal with a kiss.

_**The Present** _

Quinn feels the ache deep in her bones and knows its age as much as those old injuries but still she perseveres as she shuffles back to their room, hoping to make it on time. She knows that Rachel won't watch it unless she's there and even then, it's only to see the Reaping.

To memorise the names of those chosen and to offer up a prayer for them all. She's been to the mess and knows that there's talk again of a rebellion. She understands they have the weapons to ignite something but just not the people to fight. The disease not only decimating the numbers of the people but bringing with it infertility had limited what they could accomplish against the Capitol.

She sees her quarters up ahead and as if on cue, the door slides open to reveal Rachel standing there, waiting for her. The years have been kind to them but she knows that they're too old to think about rebellion or an uprising. All she wants is to hear Rachel sing each day and to wake up with her every morning and kiss her before going to bed every night.

"The 74th Reaping for District 12 is about to start. Their escort has just arrived." Rachel takes her hand as they sit in front of the screen. Watching it each year, hoping for a change wishing it would stop. Catching glimpses of familiar faces and praying for a miracle. Never watching the actual Games because it would be just too cruel even now.

When Rachel hears the girl from 12 volunteer, she thinks of Quinn. They bear no resemblance to each other but she recognises that iron will coupled with a sense of righteousness. Somehow she finally feels that things will change as she says the words. "She can win it."

Quinn rests her head on Rachel's shoulder not saying anything until she sees the boy tribute. The way he steps forward tentative at first and then accepting his fate as he goes up onto the stage. She sees something in him that resonates so strongly with her. He reminds her of Sam or maybe even Rachel. She sees the way he looks frightened but not for himself as he finally looks at the girl next to him.

"Maybe." She can tell Rachel is smiling even before she turns to look at her love. "Maybe they both will."

**The End**


End file.
